Nasdaq futures slide as Snap results weigh on technology stocks

Nasdaq futures fell in overnight trading Thursday as investors digested a fresh batch of corporate earnings and disappointing results from Snap, which sent social media shares reeling.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.18%, or 58 points. S&P 500 futures fell 0.44% and Nasdaq 100 futures tumbled 0.78%. 

Shares of the Snapchat parent company plummeted a whopping 26% after posting second-quarter results that fell short of analysts’ expectations and noting that it plans to slow hiring.

The results from Snap weighed on other social media and technology stocks investors feared could get impacted by slowing online advertising sales. Shares of Meta Platforms, Alphabet, Twitter and Pinterest fell 5.2%, 2.9%, 1.8% and 7%, respectively, following the news.

The Invesco QQQ Trust slid 0.71% after hours.

The news ruined what has been a hot streak for tech shares. The Nasdaq Composite posted its third straight positive session on Thursday. That came on the back of positive quarterly results from Tesla, which popped nearly 10% on Thursday.

The Nasdaq finished the regular trading day Thursday 1.36% higher to close at 12,059.61, while the S&P 500 rose 0.99% to 3,998.95. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 162.06 points, or 0.51%, to settle at 32,036.90. The Dow is on track for a 2.4% weekly gain, while the S&P and Nasdaq are on course to close out the week 3.5% and 5.3% higher.

Shares of growth-focused technology companies jumped in trading on Thursday as the dollar cooled down from its surge. The European Central Bank hiked rates by 50 basis points in its first increase in 11 years while initial jobless claims hit their highest level since November 2021.

“This is showing you that market expectations are really low, that a little bit of good news can go a long way when you have low expectations,” said Truist’s Keith Lerner, noting that investors rotated back into growth stocks even amid this weak economic data.

On the earnings front, investors are awaiting results from American Express, Verizon and Twitter slated to report before the bell on Friday.