Options market watch: Alphabet dips, Truth Social feed, Kalshi
Futures fall as Alphabet slides on soft earnings and Microsoft firms. Also: paid access to Trump posts, Utah charges Kalshi, Samsung's record Q3 profit.
| Item | Reported detail |
|---|---|
| U.S. stock futures | Lower after Alphabet earnings |
| Alphabet | Slides on soft earnings |
| Microsoft | Firmer |
| Truth Social data access | Bloomberg plus 2 trading firms |
| Star Entertainment penalty | $183.6 million |
| Kalshi | Criminal charges in Utah |
| Samsung | Record Q3 profit |
U.S. equity futures pointed lower early Thursday, and the divergence between two of the biggest technology names was the main driver. For the options market, the more durable stories may be the ones about who gets market-moving information first, and how event-style contracts are regulated.
Key takeaways
- U.S. stock futures fell as Alphabet slid on soft earnings, while Microsoft firmed, according to Investing.com.
- Reuters reports that Bloomberg and two trading firms agreed to pay for faster access to President Trump’s Truth Social posts.
- Utah has criminally charged Kalshi with promoting illegal gambling, according to Investing.com.
- Samsung posted a record third-quarter profit, which Investing.com attributes to an AI chip boom.
Futures slip as Alphabet and Microsoft diverge
Investing.com reports that U.S. stock futures dropped after Alphabet fell on soft quarterly results, while Microsoft held firmer. Earnings gaps like this one usually matter to derivatives traders because single-stock implied volatility tends to be bid into a report and then reset once the numbers are out. This report gives no figures for the size of either move, so the scale of any repricing is not yet clear.
Index-level futures weakness driven by one large constituent also tests how much of the market’s direction depends on a few mega-cap names. Watch Thursday’s cash open to see whether the futures decline holds or fades, and whether Microsoft’s relative strength persists.
Paid access to presidential posts
According to a Reuters exclusive carried by Investing.com, Bloomberg and two trading firms have agreed to pay Trump’s Truth Social for faster access to the president’s posts. The report is based on sources. The names of the two trading firms were not given in the material available.
The arrangement matters because posts from the White House have at times moved markets. A paid, faster feed would create a tiered information structure. Those with the quickest access could act before others see the same text. Options desks that trade around policy headlines are the most obvious group to watch. Expect questions from market participants and possibly regulators about fairness and disclosure. Neither the pricing nor the speed advantage of the service has been reported.
Utah charges Kalshi
Investing.com reports that Utah has filed criminal charges against Kalshi, accusing it of promoting illegal gambling. Kalshi operates a prediction-market platform whose contracts resemble event-based derivatives. A state criminal case adds a new pressure point to the debate over whether such products are financial instruments or wagers.
Anyone who trades event contracts should watch how Kalshi responds and whether other states follow. The charge is an accusation, not a finding.
Samsung’s record quarter
Samsung posted a record third-quarter profit on the back of an AI chip boom, according to Investing.com. The report points again to artificial intelligence hardware as a source of earnings strength. That theme is also central to the mega-cap results moving U.S. futures today.
Other items
Australia’s Star Entertainment has accepted an anti-money laundering penalty of $183.6 million, Investing.com reports. The law firm Weil Gotshal plans to dissolve, the same outlet says, ending what it calls a dizzying fall. Investing.com also reports that a cyberattack concealed political spending by big donors ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. None of these has a direct read-through to volatility, but each is part of the day’s compliance and governance news.
What to watch next
- Whether Thursday’s open confirms the weakness in futures.
- Any detail on the Truth Social access deal, including the identity of the trading firms.
- Kalshi’s legal response in Utah and any copycat action from other states.
Prepared with AI assistance from public sources and reviewed under our editorial policy. Not investment advice.