Stock Futures Point Lower to Begin December; Big Tech, Crypto-Tied Stocks Drop Amid Risk-Off Sentiment

Stock futures pointed lower ahead of the final trading month of the year, with shares of big tech and cryptocurrency-tied firms falling amid risk-off sentiment. 

Futures associated with the tech-heavy Nasdaq, benchmark S&P 500, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.7%, 0.6%, and 0.5%, respectively, after the indexes finished higher in a shortened Black Friday session to post their best week since June.

The S&P 500 and Dow finished slightly higher for November to extend their run of monthly gains to seven, but the Nasdaq registered its first losing month since March. 

Bitcoin recently was trading at around $86,700, well off its overnight high of more than $91,300, and other major cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and Solana also sold off sharply. Shares of crypto-tied firms Strategy (MSTR), MARA Holdings (MARA), Coinbase Global (COIN), and Robinhood Markets (HOOD) all were down between 3% and 5% in premarket trading.

Shares of the Magnificent Seven large-cap technology companies—in order of market capitalization, Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta Platforms (META), and Tesla (TSLA)—were down as well, with investors continuing to worry about valuations of big tech firms and spending on AI.

Elsewhere, shares of airline stocks were lower after Airbus said Friday that “analysis of a recent event involving an A320 Family aircraft has revealed that intense solar radiation may corrupt data critical to the functioning of flight controls.” The French firm said Monday that out of roughly 6,000 aircraft potentially impacted, fewer than 100 remain in need of a software update. Shares of Delta Air Lines (DAL), United Airlines (UAL), American Airlines (AAL), and others were down 1% to 2% before the bell, while those of Airbus were down 3% in Paris trading.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.04% from 4.01% Friday, when bond markets wrapped up trading at 2 p.m. ET. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the performance of the dollar against a basket of foreign currencies, was down 0.2% to 99.27.

WTI crude futures, the U.S. oil benchmark, were 1% higher at $59.20 per barrel, and gold futures rose nearly 1% to $4,290 per ounce.