Nasdaq 100 futures rose by nearly 1% during early trading on Monday, countering social media speculation regarding a market crash. This movement follows a significant decline on Friday, where the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.1% and the S&P 500 fell 1.1%, marking their worst weekly performance since June.
Data for the December contract of the Nasdaq 100 showed a value of 29,643, reflecting an increase of 0.86%. The contract initially opened at 29,227, which was 0.6% lower than the previous close, before reversing the trend. Market research firm Kobeissi Letter indicated that the S&P 500 was expected to add $350 billion in market capitalization at the opening.
Despite recent volatility, the S&P 500 maintains an 11.9% gain for 2026. The index closed Friday at 7,659.44, approximately 2% below its record high of 7,818.93 reached on October 6. Analysts suggest the index could reach 8,000, which represents a 4.4% increase from the Friday closing level.
Market breadth remains a concern as only 10 stocks have driven roughly 70% of the index gains since March 30. Currently, 84% of S&P 500 components are trading at least 10% below their respective highs. On Friday, chip manufacturers Micron and Intel saw declines of 5.6% and 5.8% respectively, highlighting sector-specific pressure.
