Tonight’s Highlights | AI Valuation Concerns Resurface, U.S. Index Futures Nearly Flat

U.S. major index futures are roughly flat, while major European indices are broadly higher.

 

Wednesday’s U.S. ADP employment report came in far weaker than expected — November ADP payrolls fell by 32,000 versus forecasts of +5,000. The soft jobs data raised hopes for continued Fed rate cuts and helped lift stocks, with all three major indices closing higher on Wednesday (Dow +0.86%).

 

However, concerns over sky-high AI valuations flared up again. The Information reported that Microsoft is lowering sales targets for AI-related software, sending MSFT shares down 2.5% on Wednesday (Microsoft denied the report). The sell-off dragged on other big tech names.

 

LPL Financial chief technical strategist Adam Turnquist wrote to clients:  

“Rotation is often called the ‘lifeblood’ of a bull market. This cycle has generally seen mega-cap tech lead, followed by broader participation from cyclical sectors. Recently, however, rotation out of tech has shifted toward defensive sectors — the first clear risk-off signal since the April rebound. While this may just be a pullback from overbought levels, such shifts warrant close monitoring.”

 

Salesforce up 2% pre-market after issuing better-than-expected revenue guidance.

Corporate News  

EU launches antitrust probe into Meta over WhatsApp AI rules  

 

The European Commission announced on December 4 a formal antitrust investigation into whether Meta’s new policy restricting third-party AI providers’ access to WhatsApp violates EU competition rules.  

 

Meta introduced the rule in October, barring AI providers whose primary service is AI from using WhatsApp Business Solution (a tool for companies to communicate with customers via WhatsApp), though auxiliary/support AI functions remain allowed. The Commission fears the policy could block competing AI providers from offering services via WhatsApp in the European Economic Area.

 

Palantir launches Chain Reaction OS for U.S. AI infrastructure, partners include Nvidia  

 

Palantir Technologies released Chain Reaction on December 4 — an operating system designed to accelerate U.S. AI infrastructure buildout. Founding partners include CenterPoint Energy and Nvidia.

 

Anthropic & Snowflake sign $200M multi-year deal for AI agents  

 

Snowflake and Anthropic announced a $200 million multi-year agreement on December 4 to make Anthropic’s Claude models available on Snowflake’s platform and jointly deploy Claude-powered AI agents to “the world’s largest enterprises.”

 

Micron exits Crucial consumer storage business  

 

Micron Technology announced on December 3 that it is winding down its Crucial consumer brand worldwide. The company will continue supplying Crucial products through retail and e-commerce channels until the end of its fiscal Q2 2026 (February 2026) and will maintain warranty support during the transition.

 

Macy’s Q3 net income plunges  

 

Macy’s reported on December 3 that fiscal Q3 (ended Nov 1, 2025) net income fell sharply to ~$11 million from $28 million a year earlier, blaming tariff impacts.

 

Delta Air Lines: U.S. government shutdown cost the airline $200 million  

 

Delta said on December 3 that the recent 43-day federal government shutdown cost the carrier roughly $200 million — the first U.S. carrier to quantify the financial hit. CEO Ed Bastian said uncertainty led to a surge in cancellations and a 5–10% drop in bookings, equating to ~$0.25 per share in lost earnings.

 

Meta hires longtime Apple UI design chief Alan Dye  

 

Reports on December 3 (confirmed by Apple) say Meta has poached Alan Dye, Apple’s head of human interface design since 2015. Dye will join Meta as Chief Design Officer on December 31.