Nasdaq Futures Steady as Dell’s AI Blowout Ignites Hardware Rally; Asia Rebounds Ahead of PCE

Settled Picture: Futures Hold Ground After Tech-Led Session

As the clock ticks toward the final trading day of May, U.S. index futures are exhibiting a sense of measured calm following a volatile but ultimately rewarding regular session. S&P 500 futures (ES) are currently trading just 0.03% below their previous settlement, while Nasdaq 100 futures (NQ) have eased by 0.16%. The Dow Jones futures (YM) remain essentially flat, up a marginal 0.01%, and the Russell 2000 futures (RTY) are lagging with a 0.21% decline. This stability in the headline indices masks a frenzy of activity beneath the surface, where individual earnings reports have triggered double-digit swings that could reshape sector leadership heading into June.

The late-night trend reflects a market that is catching its breath after the Nasdaq Composite surged 0.90% during the regular Thursday session. That rally was fueled by growing optimism surrounding a potential diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East and a tentative ceasefire extension, which has helped soothe global risk appetite. However, the slight dip in Nasdaq futures suggests that some traders are locking in profits or hedging positions ahead of Friday morning’s critical inflation data. The breadth of the after-hours session remains positive, with 512 advancers compared to 432 decliners, yielding an advance/decline ratio of 1.19. This indicates that while the heavyweights are pausing, there is still underlying support across the broader market.

AI Infrastructure Blowout: Dell, HPE, and NetApp Lead the Charge

The headline of the night is undoubtedly Dell Technologies (DELL), which exploded 38.83% higher in after-hours trading, reaching a price of $441.50. The move comes on the back of what many analysts are calling the most significant earnings report for the company since its return to public markets in 2018. Dell crushed Wall Street estimates, reporting revenue of $43.84 billion against expectations of $35.43 billion, driven by an unprecedented surge in AI-optimized server demand. The company revealed that its AI server backlog has ballooned to over $51 billion, and it raised its full-year AI-related revenue guidance to a staggering $60 billion. This performance has effectively silenced critics who questioned whether the AI hardware boom was limited to chipmakers like Nvidia.

The “Dell Effect” rippled through the entire hardware and storage sector. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) surged 19.01% to $45.48, as investors bet that the same enterprise demand for AI clusters would lift its upcoming results. NetApp (NTAP) also joined the rally, climbing 13.84% to $162.10 after reporting its own record fiscal year results. NetApp’s management highlighted a landmark year for its all-flash array and intelligent data infrastructure, which are becoming essential components of the AI data center. Together, these moves suggest that the “second wave” of the AI trade—focused on the physical infrastructure and storage required to run large language models—is now in full swing, providing a powerful tailwind for the technology sector (XLK), which already led the regular session with a 0.54% gain.

The Divergence: Software and Retail Face Late-Night Pressure

While hardware providers basked in the glow of AI optimism, other corners of the market faced a harsh reality check. SentinelOne (S) plummeted 17.34% to $14.89 after the cybersecurity firm issued a disappointing top-line miss and soft revenue guidance for the upcoming quarter. Despite meeting earnings-per-share expectations, the company’s outlook suggested that enterprise spending on software and cloud security may be tightening, a sharp contrast to the “must-have” nature of AI hardware. This divergence highlights a growing theme in the 2026 market: investors are increasingly discerning, rewarding companies that provide the physical building blocks of the AI era while punishing those in the software-as-a-service (SaaS) space that fail to show immediate acceleration.

The retail sector also suffered significant late-session damage. Gap Inc. (GAP) saw its shares tumble 14.93% to $21.29 after the apparel giant lowered its full-year sales growth outlook to a range of 1% to 2%. While the flagship Gap brand showed strength with 10% comparable sales growth, weakness at Old Navy and Athleta weighed heavily on sentiment. Similarly, Williams-Sonoma (WSM) dropped 9.82% to $185.38, reflecting broader concerns about consumer discretionary spending in an environment of elevated interest rates. These moves contributed to the underperformance of the Consumer Discretionary (XLY) and Real Estate (XLRE) sectors, which were the worst performers during the regular session, falling 0.79% and 1.81%, respectively.

Asia Rebounds and the Overnight Outlook

As the U.S. after-hours session settles, the focus shifts to the Asian market open, where early signs point to a recovery. Japan’s Nikkei 225 is trading up approximately 0.88% in the Friday morning session, rebounding from a sharp 1.5% drop on Thursday. The recovery is being driven by the positive spillover from the U.S. tech rally and reports that Washington and Tehran are moving closer to a formal 60-day ceasefire extension. This geopolitical de-escalation is providing a much-needed boost to regional sentiment, even as the GIFT Nifty suggests a cautious open for Indian markets. The Hang Seng Index is also showing signs of stabilization, as traders weigh the benefits of a potential pause in Middle Eastern hostilities against the backdrop of a cooling global economy.

Overnight risk factors remain concentrated on the currency and bond markets. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield is hovering around 4.53%, a level that has historically acted as a ceiling for equity valuations. Any significant move in yields during the London session could disrupt the current stability in index futures. Additionally, the U.S. dollar remains firm, which may act as a headwind for multinational earnings if the trend persists. However, for the moment, the market appears to be in a “wait-and-see” mode, with the massive gains in Dell and HPE providing a sufficient cushion to prevent a broader late-night sell-off.

Tomorrow Preview: The PCE “Final Boss”

All eyes are now on Friday morning’s release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index at 8:30 AM ET. As the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, this data point is the “final boss” of the week and will likely dictate the market’s direction for the first half of June. Analysts are looking for signs that core inflation is continuing its slow descent toward the Fed’s 2% target. A cooler-than-expected print would likely ignite a massive rally in both bonds and equities, as it would provide the new Fed Chair, Kevin Warsh, with the political and economic cover needed to consider interest rate cuts later this summer.

Conversely, a hot PCE print could derail the AI-led momentum and force a re-evaluation of the “higher for longer” interest rate narrative. Beyond the inflation data, investors will also receive the second revision to Q1 GDP and updates on personal income and spending. On the corporate front, the market will continue to digest the implications of the Dell/HPE infrastructure boom, with traders watching for sympathy moves in other data center plays like Arista Networks and Vertiv. As we head into the weekend, the combination of high-stakes macro data and explosive sector-specific earnings ensures that Friday’s session will be anything but quiet.