Nasdaq 100 futures rose almost 1% in early Monday trading, brushing off a weekend of social media warnings that markets were headed for a repeat of the 1987 crash. The December contract opened at 29,227 — about 0.6% below its previous close — before climbing to near 29,643, up 0.86%. Market research firm Kobeissi Letter, which tracked the online chatter calling for a Black Monday, estimated the S&P 500 would add roughly $350 billion in market capitalization at the open.
What Friday's selloff actually did
The bounce follows a rough end to last week. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.1% on Friday and the S&P 500 fell 1.1%, with both indexes posting their worst week since June. That left the S&P 500 about 2% below its October 6 record close of 7,818.93. Despite the pullback, the benchmark is still up 11.9% for 2026.
Friday's losses were concentrated in chip names. Micron fell 5.6% on doubts about how long the AI infrastructure buildout can last, and Intel lost 5.8%. Those declines fed the broader anxiety that spilled onto social media over the weekend.
The 1987 comparison that didn't stick
The original Black Monday happened on October 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.6% in a single session. Calls for a repeat circulated widely on Monday, according to Kobeissi. Futures markets didn't cooperate. Instead of a crash, the December Nasdaq 100 contract recovered from its lower open and moved higher through the morning.
Kobeissi also pushed back on the bearish narrative with a historical argument of its own, suggesting the S&P 500 could reach 8,000 soon — roughly 4.4% above Friday's close of 7,659.44.
A rally running on very few stocks
The bullish case comes with an asterisk. About 84% of S&P 500 members are trading at least 10% below their highs, according to Kobeissi. Just 10 stocks have driven roughly 70% of the index's gain since March 30. That narrow leadership is the kind of detail that makes both the crash calls and the 8,000 target easier to argue.
For now, the immediate test was passed: the futures market opened lower, then buyers stepped in. Whether the cash market holds those gains through the closing bell is a separate question, and one that won't be answered until Monday's session finishes.
