US pre-open: Futures steady as Supreme Court weighs tariffs, AI stocks recover
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 06 Nov 2025
(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were little changed ahead of the bell on Thursday, with investors weighing a potential rollback of trade tariffs and signs of stabilisation in artificial intelligence-linked equities.
As of 1230 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.01%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had both indices opening 0.10% firmer.
The Dow closed 225.76 points higher on Wednesday as market participants were zeroed in on a Supreme Court hearing on Donald Trump's "reciprocal tariffs" and a pair of fresh PMI readings.
US stock futures were broadly flat ahead of the bell on Thursday as traders continued to focus on a Supreme Court hearing in Washington, where justices appeared sceptical of the legality of Donald Trump's sweeping trade taxes, with a ruling against the administration's policy set to pave the way for tariff relief.
Elsewhere, AI-exposed stocks began rebounding from valuation concerns earlier in the week after Advanced Micro Devices reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, offering further support to the broader market.
In terms of Thursday's earnings, Warner Bros Discovery's quarterly numbers fell short of Wall Street expectations due to lackluster growth in its streaming unit and continued declines in its cable TV arm. Following a strong comparative quarter in 2024, when Warner got a boost from the Paris Olympics and crime drama series 'The Penguin', the company's streaming division, home to both the HBO Max and Discovery+ platforms, was hurt by a dearth of new programming.
Still to come, Airbnb, TakeTwo Interactive and Expedia were all slated to report earnings after the close.
On the macro front, US employers cut 153,074 jobs last month, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, up 175% year-on-year, with the largest October figure for more than 20 years coming as industries continued to adopt AI and ramp-up cost cutting efforts. October's number took total layoffs for the year to 1.1m through - marking a 65% increase on the same period in 2024. Job cuts so far in 2025 are at their highest level since 2020, when 2.3m layoffs were announced over the same timeframe.
Rostro's Joshua Mahony said: "This morning's 153,074 job cuts for the month of October represents a 175% rise in cuts compared with last October, with challenger attributing AI adoption as a key reason for this. Coming hot off the heels of the Amazon confirmation of 14,000 job losses, it is notable that today's report saw technology as the main area being impacted by cuts. While there remain key concerns around the jobs market, the fact that we have seen expectations of a December rate cut fall to 67% signals the significant shift in confidence since the Fed's recent rate decision."
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
Email this article to a friend
or share it with one of these popular networks:
You are here: news
10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN