S&P Drops Fourth Day, Futures Steady as Nvidia Anticipation Builds
Stock futures were little changed after U.S. benchmarks extended losses, with the S&P 500 recording a fourth consecutive decline as technology names weighed on the market. Investors were braced for Nvidia earnings, a report analysts expect will show strong AI driven sales and which could determine near term direction for a market concentrated in a handful of mega cap stocks.
U.S. stock futures were little changed late Tuesday after major equity indexes extended losses on November 18, 2025, leaving the S&P 500 with a fourth straight down session. The pullback was led by technology shares, where a group of high profile AI related names closed lower and continued to exert outsized influence on the market’s performance.
Most sectors in the broader market finished higher on the day, underscoring a split between cyclical and defensive areas and the concentrated nature of the sell off. Key technology companies once again weighed on headline indexes, with Nvidia, Palantir Technologies, Microsoft and Advanced Micro Devices all finishing in the red. The concentration effect is pronounced because large cap technology firms carry heavy weights in the S&P 500, meaning their moves can drive index performance even as breadth improves across smaller names.
Investors headed into the evening focused on Nvidia, the largest company in the broad market index, with analysts largely expecting the chipmaker to meaningfully beat Wall Street’s expectations. Forecasts called for strong sales growth driven by demand for AI chips and related infrastructure, a dynamic that has underpinned much of the market’s gains this year. With earnings looming, market participants were positioning for a potential volatility inflection point that could either reverse recent losses or deepen them, depending on the magnitude of Nvidia’s beat and guidance.
The market’s caution reflected a broader recalibration after a string of gains earlier in the year that were heavily concentrated in a narrow set of megacap technology stocks. Traders have become more attuned to earnings risk and the potential for profit taking, particularly in names tied to artificial intelligence adoption and data center spending. Options markets typically show heightened implied volatility ahead of such a pivotal earnings report, and investors were monitoring positioning for signs of asymmetric risk.
Macroeconomic context remained relevant as well. With the Federal Reserve still in focus and economic data showing a mixed picture on growth and inflation, risk appetite was sensitive to any signal that could alter the outlook for interest rates or corporate investment. A strong Nvidia results and bullish guidance for AI infrastructure could bolster confidence in sustained tech capital expenditures, while a softer report could raise concerns about near term demand.
Market strategists noted that the coming earnings release would be more than a single company’s report, because it could recalibrate expectations for a sector that has been central to this year’s performance. For investors, the immediate question was whether Nvidia’s anticipated beat would catalyze a broad rebound, or whether the recent string of S&P declines marked the start of a more durable rotation away from a narrow leadership set.
