Nasdaq 100 steadies as OpenAI revenue report spooks market

The Nasdaq 100 steadied on Tuesday after an early sell-off tied to a report that OpenAI fell short of internal revenue targets. The index pared most losses during U.S. trading and held an intraday support level at 26,760. OpenAI disputed the revenue claims, a development that limited further declines.

Before the U.S. session, futures tied to the Nasdaq 100 fell about 1.5%, and several large technology and semiconductor stocks moved lower, including NVIDIA, Broadcom and AMD. As the session progressed, buying interest returned and the Nasdaq 100 reduced its loss to roughly 1%. Earnings from Alphabet and Microsoft are scheduled after the close and may influence the index’s direction.

From a technical perspective, the Nasdaq 100 has been trading inside an ascending channel since the March 31 low. The 26,760 level sits near the channel’s lower boundary and acted as short-term support on Tuesday. An hourly close below 26,760 would expose support around 26,480 and the 26,288/26,142 zone. On the upside, a move above 27,380 would leave room for resistance at 27,647 and a cluster near 27,934–27,994.

Momentum indicators showed short-term stabilization. The hourly relative strength index fell into oversold territory below 30 on April 28 and then registered a bullish divergence. Elliott Wave analysis maintained that a minor impulsive wave-three structure from the April 2 low remained intact.

Market breadth within the Nasdaq 100 remained positive as of April 28, with 59% of components trading above their 20-day moving average, 54% above their 50-day moving average and 52% above their 200-day moving average. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose about 24% from a late-February baseline through April 28, was up roughly 42% year to date and about 137% year on year as of April 28. For context, the SOX recorded a year-on-year gain near 228% at the March 2000 peak.

Some market participants questioned whether elevated AI-related spending and infrastructure investment will translate into sustained returns after those themes helped push major U.S. indexes to recent highs. Traders watch semiconductor performance closely because changes in that sector can affect broader market trends.

Analysts and traders said that continued news flow and upcoming earnings reports could produce renewed volatility. The 26,760 area remained the short-term reference point for traders assessing whether the Nasdaq 100 would resume its advance or experience a deeper pullback.