Nasdaq, S&P 500 Futures Slip As Memory Chip Selloff Hits Tech Stocks: Why SPCX, MU, QCOM, BB, ILLR, TII Are In Focus

• A sharp selloff in Asian memory-chip giants rattled global markets. Wall Street looked set for a cautious end to the week on Friday.
• The decline in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, two of the world's largest memory suppliers, sent U.S. chipmakers, including Micron, Western Digital and Sandisk, lower in premarket trading 
• A hotter-than-expected inflation reading fueled fresh caution around interest rates on Thursday.

U.S. stock futures were mixed early Friday, following another volatile session for technology stocks, with the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge surprising to the upside.

A sweeping tech rout across Asian markets, which saw a brief trading suspension on South Korea’s Kospi index after heavyweights Samsung and SK Hynix plunged as much as 10%, weighed on sentiment. Chipmakers such as Micron (MU), Sandisk (SNDK) and Western Digital Corp (WDC) are reeling under pressure in early premarket trade on Friday. 

Apple's (AAPL) and Microsoft’s (MSFT) hardware price hikes reveal that severe memory chip shortages are beginning to directly impact consumer product pricing and strain mega-cap margins. 

The annualized PCE index hitting a 31-month high keeps the pressure on the Federal Reserve, tempering near-term hopes for aggressive interest rate cuts. Meanwhile, crude oil prices declined nearly 2% Friday and are headed for steep weekly losses as more tankers resumed transits through the Strait of Hormuz, despite reports that a cargo vessel was attacked near Oman.

As of 4:00 a.m. ET, Nasdaq futures fell 0.7%, S&P 500 futures declined 0.2%, Dow futures rose 0.1%, and Russell 2000 futures were flat with a positive bias.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, has slipped to ‘extremely bearish’, while the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ETF, which tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index, has stayed ‘bullish’.

Trending Stocks To Watch

Micron Technology (MU): A Morningstar analyst warned that the current AI-driven memory boom could eventually give way to a supply glut and a sharp revenue decline. However, retail traders remained overwhelmingly bullish, with most Stocktwits voters expecting the stock to top $1,500 within a year. 

Qualcomm (QCOM): Although shares remain on track for one of their weakest months in years, analysts increasingly believe hyperscale cloud providers could become major customers over the next several years.

BlackBerry (BB): Stock eyes weekly gain after CEO John Giamatteo flagged plans to expand beyond automotive software into AI-powered security platforms through their "Alloy Kore" ecosystem. 

SpaceX (SPCX): Fresh reports suggest Starlink could enter the U.S. mobile market as the company expands into AI satellites, infrastructure, and wireless services.

Triller Group Inc (ILLR) surged 97% in early premarket trading after the company signed an agreement to acquire an economic interest in SpaceX through an established investment fund structure. 

Rocket Lab (RKLB) gained attention after NASA selected the company to launch its PolSIR and TSIS-2 science missions aboard Electron rockets beginning in 2027.

Titan Mining Corp (TII) rose nearly 40% in early premarket trade after its subsidiary was selected by the U.S. Army to establish the first-ever public-private partnership for domestic critical minerals processing on a U.S. military installation. 

Other tickers trending on Stocktwits at the time of writing included Sellas Lifesciences (SLS), Strategy (MSTR), Rigetti Computing (RGTI), Palantir Technologies (PLTR), and PayPal Holdings (PYPL). 

Other Catalysts To Watch

On the economic front, investors will be tracking the release of wholesale inventories and the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. Fresh commentary from New York Fed President John Williams and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari could hold clues for the Federal Reserve's next interest-rate decision.

On earnings radar, watch out for quarterly reports from Apogee Enterprises Inc (APOG), Conduit Pharmaceuticals Inc (CDT), and Bitcoin Depot Inc (BTM), among others, today. 

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