US stock futures fall today after Fed delivers third straight rate cut: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq all in red as Oracle crashes on AI spending shock

US stock futures edged lower early Wednesday after a strong post-Fed rally, pressured by a sharp drop in Oracle shares. At 4:32 AM ET, Dow Jones futures traded at 47,969, down 138 points or 0.29%. The fair-value adjusted reading, 48,098.86, reflected a similar decline.

S&P 500 futures fell to 6,849.25, down 42.50 points or 0.62%, while the adjusted level, 6,892.38, was also weaker.

Nasdaq 100 futures dropped the most, sliding to 25,587.75, down 210.25 points or 0.81%. The corresponding fair-value figure stood at 25,802.02, lower by 214.27 points.
The pressure came largely from tech and AI-linked stocks after Oracle’s disappointing outlook. Treasury yields eased, with the 10-year yield at 4.12%.

Bitcoin, which briefly surged above $94,200, slipped below $90,000 in overnight action.

The pullback comes just hours after Wall Street rallied on the Federal Reserve’s latest policy shift.
The Fed cut interest rates for a third straight meeting, bringing the benchmark range to 3.5%–3.75%. Policymakers signaled one more cut in 2026, while Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized a “gradually cooling” labor market. Powell also suggested a possible pause in 2026, saying current inflation pressures were tied to a “one-off tariff effect.”

Investors welcomed the tone, sending the Dow up 1.05%, the S&P 500 up 0.7%, and the Nasdaq up 0.3% on Wednesday.

Small caps surged, with the Russell 2000 jumping 1.3% to a new high.

Energy, financials, homebuilders, and industrials posted broad strength across sector ETFs.

U.S. crude settled at $58.46, up 0.4%.

What happened to Oracle and other key earnings movers?

Oracle sparked significant volatility overnight. The company topped profit expectations for fiscal Q2, but revenue fell short. More importantly, AI-related capital spending surged, and Oracle raised its full-year capex plans.

Shares plunged more than 11% in extended trading, signaling a fall back below the 200-day moving average. Oracle stock had earlier peaked at $345.72 on September 10.

CEO Larry Ellison added pressure by declaring “chip neutrality,” confirming Oracle would buy Nvidia chips but also offer alternatives.

This raised concerns about demand and profitability for high-end Nvidia server rentals — a core part of Oracle’s AI cloud strategy.

The spillover hit several AI names, including Nvidia, CoreWeave, and other data-center-linked plays.

Other notable earnings:

• Adobe slightly beat estimates, but the stock eased in after-hours trading.
• Synopsys topped expectations and ticked higher, supported by Nvidia’s recent strategic investment.
• Planet Labs surged on strong results.
• Ciena, an AI-exposed fiber-optics supplier, is set to report before Thursday’s opening bell.

Pre-market stocks moving most today

Pre-market action showed sharp moves across small-cap and tech names.

Top Gainers

• GLXG (Galaxy Payroll Group): up 37.54% to $4.36 on strong volume above 1M shares.
• BQ (Boqii Holding): up 23.50% to $2.47.
• NXDR (Nextdoor Holdings): up 17.79% to $2.98.

Top Decliners

• ORCL (Oracle): down 11.27% to $197.88 post-earnings.
• IRBT (iRobot): down 5.34% to $4.96.
• BMNR (BitMine Immersion): down 3.56% to $38.96.

Large-cap tech names were softer, with Nvidia down 1.57% and Rigetti Computing down 1.15%.

What are analysts watching next in the stock market?

The stock market remains in an uptrend, supported by Wednesday’s broad rally. Several leading AI-driven and industrial stocks continue to form or break through buy zones:

• GE Vernova jumped 15.6% to 723 after raising revenue targets and boosting shareholder returns.
• Palantir rose 3.3% to 187.91 after securing a U.S. Navy supply-chain modernization contract.
• Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) climbed 2.2% to 310.14, clearing a technical buy point backed by strong November sales.
• Comfort Systems (FIX) closed above a cup-base buy point at 1,020.26.
• Tesla and Vertiv are shaping new bullish consolidations.

If the market holds momentum, analysts expect investors to continue adding exposure.

Earnings from Ciena and Broadcom could influence tech sentiment, while Oracle remains a front-line risk factor.