AI Bears March Down Wall Street Pre-Bell; Asia Down, Europe Off

07:26 AM EDT, 10/15/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Wall Street futures sank pre-bell Thursday as bearish sentiments again sent AI- and semiconductor-related shares into retreat, after a hot inflation report overnight from Washington raised concerns that more Federal Reserve monetary policy tightening is on deck. In the futures, the S&P 500 fell 0.3%, the Nasdaq declined 1.4%, although the Dow Jones was up 0.3%. Undercutting moods further are reports that US data center operator CoreWeave (CRWV) bonds are sinking in market value, prompting credit concerns about the heavily leveraged data center sector. CoreWeave shares traded down 15.5% Wednesday, and are down another 4.1% pre-bell. In other news, West Texas Intermediate crude oil traded down 0.1% to $95.01, and 10-year US Treasuries yields eased a bit to 5.08%, in morning action. The VanEck Semiconductor fund (SMH) traded down 2.5% pre-bell, after a 4% decline on Wednesday. Traders also await the September producer price index bulletin from Washington at 8:30 am ET, for clues on how higher energy bills are hitting manufacturers and other businesses. The September retail sales report will also post at 8:30 am, providing a window into consumer strength as gasoline prices bulge. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will speak with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in Thailand, the session airing at 11:30 pm ET. Asian exchanges traded lower overnight, punctuated by 7.6% decline on Seoul's KOSPI index, as semiconductor-industry shares retreated. European bourses tracked moderately south midday on the continent. PNC Financial (PNC) traded down 1.1% pre-bell after the bank reported Q3 earnings above expectations, but missed on revenue, in morning hours. On the economic calendar, in addition to the retail sales and producer price reports, is the weekly jobless claims bulletin, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index and the Empire State Manufacturing Index for October, at 8:30 am ET. The business inventories bulletin for August logs at 10 am, followed by the weekly EIA natural gas report at 10:30 am. The weekly EIA petroleum status report posts at noon. Federal Reserve Cleveland President Beth Hammack is slated to speak on Thursday. In pre-market action, Bitcoin traded at $81,018, and spot gold commanded $4,177 an ounce.