US STOCKS-Nasdaq futures sink as AI doubts resurface, oil jumps

By Tharuniyaa Lakshmi and Ragini Mathur

Oct 22 (Reuters) - Nasdaq futures fell nearly 2% on Thursday as growth stocks came under renewed pressure after earnings from mega-caps Tesla and Meta did little to dispel doubts about the AI outlook, while a rebound in oil prices added to market jitters.

The weakness follows a strong session on Wednesday when the tech-heavy Nasdaq led Wall Street higher as robust results from SpaceX SPCX.O and Super Micro SMCI.O rekindled optimism around AI-linked stocks.

SpaceX dropped 1.9% and Super Micro fell 3.1% in premarket trading on Thursday as investors looked past earnings to the AI narrative, focusing on the soaring costs of investments and unclear return timeline.

Tesla TSLA.O fell 3.6% after the electric-vehicle maker cut its annual capital expenditure forecast, raising questions about the pace of its AI and robotics ambitions.

Separately, Reuters exclusively reported that some Tesla insiders were concerned that CEO Elon Musk's public comments on a potential merger with SpaceX could invite shareholder scrutiny and complicate deal talks.

"Profit and cash flow plunged as the company piled investment into Optimus humanoid robots, AI and robotaxis," said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

"The risk is Tesla now enters a period of limbo while investors await news on a potential combination with SpaceX, which even if shareholders are supportive, might face significant regulatory hurdles."

Meta's META.O shares slipped 2% after the social media giant introduced new non-voting shares to help fund its costly AI expansion, reviving investor scrutiny of the substantial capital required to stay competitive in the race.

Other constituents of the 'Magnificent 7' group were also down, with Amazon.com AMZN.O declining 1.8% and Nvidia NVDA.O down 1.9%.

Chip stocks dropped, too. Intel INTC.O was down 4.4%, while AMD AMD.O, Qualcomm QCOM.O, Marvell Technology MRVL.O, Broadcom AVGO.O and Micron Technology MU.O slipped between 3% and 4.7%.

The renewed jitters sent the CBOE Volatility Index .VIX up 1.57 points at 18.25, after three straight sessions of losses.

At 07:10 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 365 points, or 0.69%, S&P 500 E-minis were down 81.25 points, or 1.04%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 515 points, or 1.72%.

Brent crude climbed more than 2.8% to $111.92 a barrel, near a five-month high, after more Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked fears of supply disruptions and a wider Middle East conflict. O/R

A flight to safety pushed the 10-year yield down to around 5.0648%.

Bitcoin , the world's largest cryptocurrency, fell 3.2%, reflecting a broader risk-off mood as investors sought safer assets.

IBM IBM.N fell 4.7% even after raising annual software revenue forecast and reporting third-quarter results ahead of Wall Street expectations.

Blackstone BX.N edged 1.4% lower after the world's largest alternative asset manager posted a drop in quarterly earnings.

American Airlines AAL.O fell 3.2% after the carrier forecast to post an annual loss, as high jet fuel prices outpace fare hikes and squeeze margins.