Major U.S. stock indexes fell on Thursday, pressured by a disappointing batch of corporate earnings and heightened scrutiny surrounding the artificial intelligence sector. The Nasdaq Composite led the declines, shedding 1.38% to end at 26,184.72. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to close at 7,720.39, snapping a three-day winning streak, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 132.54 points, or 0.25%, to finish at 52,342.56.
Corporate heavyweights drove much of the downward momentum. Alphabet shares plummeted 12% after missing third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings expectations and posting a negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion. Caterpillar suffered its worst day since March 2020, sliding over 9% as construction industry sales missed forecasts. Meanwhile, Microsoft gave up initial gains to close marginally lower despite topping fiscal first-quarter estimates, as lower capital spending forecasts weighed on cloud and AI infrastructure partners like CoreWeave and Nebius.
The market pullback follows the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold benchmark interest rates steady between 3.75% and 4%. A fresh report on the personal consumption expenditures price index showed that inflation remained elevated in September, keeping investors focused on selective tech opportunities and upcoming economic data as the market heads toward November.
