Nasdaq Futures Inch Lower, Then Fall 1.1% on Hot CPI Data
Nasdaq 100 futures fell 1.1% and S&P 500 futures 0.6% on Tuesday after October consumer prices came in hotter than expected. Fed Governor Christopher Waller's support for a December rate hike had already left futures mixed after Monday's tech-led rebound.
Nasdaq futures inch lower before turning sharply weaker on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, after a hotter-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation report cooled a tech rebound. Futures had been mixed earlier after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller voiced support for an interest rate hike in December.
At 08:50 ET (13:50 GMT), Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1.1%. S&P 500 futures had fallen 0.6%, and Dow futures slipped 0.1% into negative territory.
What the CPI showed
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said headline consumer prices rose 0.4% month on month in October, after a 0.6% gain in September. Economists had expected 0.3%.
Core CPI, which strips out food and energy, held at 0.3%. Forecasts called for 0.2%.
The report carried no year-on-year figures because of a U.S. government shutdown in October 2025. The producer price index follows later this week, and investors are watching both for clues on the Fed's next move.
Waller and the Fed
The inflation data came days after a strong nonfarm payrolls report. Combined with Waller's comments, it all but locks in an expected Fed rate hike in December.
The central bank raised borrowing costs in September for the first time in three years. It held rates steady in October.
Waller spoke in London. He said he would back a hike even if inflation had come in cooler than expected, and that a half-point increase could be warranted if the data runs hot.
Monday's rebound
The moves followed a sharp recovery on Wall Street a day earlier. The Nasdaq Composite gained 2.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.2% and the S&P 500 climbed 2.4%, its best day since April 8.
That rally came after a bruising week. Worries over the sustainability of artificial intelligence spending, and over the possible impact of Democratic wins in the U.S. midterm elections, had triggered heavy selling in technology and chip stocks. The elections worry centered on gubernatorial races in states hosting large data center projects.
Chipmakers led the bounce. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged nearly 7%, Advanced Micro Devices jumped more than 13% and Broadcom gained 8.8%.
Nvidia went the other way. It fell 4.2% to its lowest close since April 7, amid concerns over an investigation into whether Chief Executive Jensen Huang had been targeted by an alleged Chinese spy.
Lower oil prices also helped on Monday by easing worries about energy-driven inflation. U.S. President Donald Trump signaled that further strikes against Iran were unlikely as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict continued.
Analysts at Trade Nation said the two-day bounce had recovered more than half of Thursday's losses on both the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500. "That's a good start, and no doubt all the dip-buyers will be congratulating themselves," they said in a note. "But it may be a tad early to whoop the klaxons and sound the all-clear."
Beyond inflation, investors are expected to watch upcoming earnings from AI-related companies, including CoreWeave.
