Wall Street's on edge. These are the levels that stocks must not violate, says Fundstrat.

Wall Street is on edge after Thursday's decline, with technology stocks leading the fall. Mark Newton of Fundstrat highlights concerns about market breadth and warns that a continued deterioration could be problematic for equities. Key levels to watch are $178.91 for Nvidia, 6,631 for the S&P 500, and 599 for the Nasdaq 100 ETF QQQ. Positive earnings from Nvidia could help rally the market. U.S. stock-index futures are lower, Treasury yields fall, and oil prices jump. Federal Reserve officials are speaking on Friday, and Merck is nearing a $9.2 billion deal to buy Cidara Therapeutics.

By Jamie Chisholm Poor market breadth remains a concern, according to Mark Newton Wall Street's on edge after Thursday's decline. Early Friday futures show stocks remain under pressure. After Thursday saw the worst session in more than a month - with the Nasdaq Composite sliding 2.3% - it looks like technology will again lead the declines. Sporadic concerns about rich valuations have joined with worries that the pace of Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts may be slower than hoped to rattle some investors. But when the market gets wobbly - when the bull market's fundamental drivers, to investors' frustration, seem to have temporarily lost their heft - it's technical factors that tend to have greater significance. Analysts at Citi cite one such indicator that suggests the longer-term trend for big technology remains positive. In a note published late Thursday, Citi strategists led by Adam Pickett say their "When Generals Fail" indicator is still supportive of the broader market. The Generals are the Mag 7, and currently only Meta (META) of that group is trading below its 200-day moving average. Others are less relaxed right now, including Mark Newton, head of technical strategy at Fundstrat, the usually resolutely bullish independent financial research boutique. He's keeping his eye on market breadth - the proportion of stocks that rise when the broader indices rise - which when it falls can be a signal of deteriorating market health. Newton notes, in an update published late Thursday, that the percentage of stocks in the Russell 3000 index within 20% of 12-month highs has begun to roll over. This also happened late last year ahead, and just before the market's 2022 peak, he says, and so it's important to pay close attention when such market breadth starts to wane. "While at around 50%, I believe this level could certainly start to push higher and needs to be sustained into the end of the year; a continued deterioration in this would be problematic for equities," Newton says. Source: Fundstrat "Markets normally start to show internal weakness ahead of corrective periods. This time looks no different," he adds. What could help turn the tide and allow the wider market to rally into the new year is Nvidia (NVDA), Newton says, which closed Thursday at $186.86. The vanguard of the AI trade will publish its earnings on Nov. 19, and well-received numbers and commentary could serve as a positive broader catalyst. "While NVDA has pulled back along with many other semiconductor stocks from earlier week resistance, one cannot be truly bearish on in the near-term unless $178.91 is broken, the area near last Friday's lows," says Newton. While the broader trends remain bullish, he says, it is important for both the S&P 500 and Invesco's Nasdaq 100 proxy ETF QQQ not to violate early November lows. These levels are 6,631 and 599, respectively. "These are quite important structurally, and any violation would point to further near-term volatility in November before U.S. equities can officially stabilize and move higher," says Newton. He still thinks there may be a December bounce , but is less sure that a push back to new highs should happen right away. Still, his underlying positivity comes through as he concludes: "Breadth remains a problem for this market for the bulls, yet sentiment is seemingly still quite subdued and makes a compelling case for buying dips during this seasonally good time." The markets U.S. stock-index futures (ES00) (YM00) (NQ00) are lower as benchmark Treasury yields BX:TMUBMUSD10Y fall. The dollar index DXY is down, while oil prices (CL.1) jump and gold futures (GC00) are trading around $4,117 an ounce. U.K. bond yields BX:TMBMKGB-10Y spiked after reports the government has decided not to raise income tax to help close the country's budget deficit, while bitcoin (BTCUSD) was sliding under $100,000. Related: How bitcoin has historically responded to bear markets Need to Know starts early and is updated until the opening bell, but sign up here to get it delivered once to your email box. The emailed version will be sent out at about 7:30 a.m. Eastern. Take control of your news. Make MarketWatch your preferred source on Google. The buzz Federal Reserve officials speaking on Friday include Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid at 10:05 a.m. Eastern, and Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan talking at 2:30 p.m. Merck (MRK) is nearing a $9.2 billion deal to buy flu-prevention biotech Cidara Therapeutics (CDTX), according to reports. Applied Materials shares (AMAT) are down despite the semiconductor equipment maker forecasting higher sales later next year on surging AI demand. Paramount (PSKY), Comcast (CMCSA) and Netflix (NFLX) are preparing bids for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), according to the Wall Street Journal. Famed investor David Tepper is still betting big on China and has also built a position in U.S. appliance maker Whirlpool (WHR), latest regulatory filings show. Shares of StubHub (STUB) are diving nearly 18% in premarket action after the ticket vendor's maiden earnings report contained no guidance for the current quarter. Best of the web Why investors should beware 13F filings. Chinese hackers used Anthropic's AI to automate cyberattacks. Has AI gotten too big to fail? How the U.S. government is backstopping the tech boom. The chart Ryan Grabinski and Jon Byrne, strategists at institutional brokerage Strategas, say that one reason the bull market may extend into 2026 is because financial conditions remain supportive of risk assets. They cite as one example the chart above, showing "no meaningful signs of stress" in credit markets at the moment. "Currently, global distressed debt totals just over $500 billion, a relatively modest amount compared to a global market exceeding $300 trillion," they add. Top tickers Here were the most active stock-market tickers on MarketWatch as of 6 a.m. Eastern. Random reads Puntastic names of Great British Gritters. An alligator on the loose in Boston became a social-media star. Here's hoping 'naked' Cheetos and Doritos taste better than they sound. For more market updates plus actionable trade ideas for stocks, options and crypto, subscribe to MarketDiem by Investor's Business Daily. -Jamie Chisholm This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 11-14-25 0756ET