The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 slipped on Wednesday as tech giant Alphabet slumped after its cloud division missed revenue estimates, while post-earnings gains in Microsoft and Boeing helped lift the Dow.
Google-parent Alphabet slid 8.6% to a three-month low as its cloud business crawled to its slowest growth in at least 11 quarters.
Microsoft, on the other hand, rose 3.8% to a three-month high after topping expectations for first-quarter results in all segments, including its cloud business.
“Investors are worried that Alphabet is losing out to Microsoft and Amazon in a sector deemed to have enormous growth potential due to the future uptake of generative artificial intelligence,” David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation, said.
However, a rise in long-dated U.S. Treasury yields also weighed on other mega-cap stocks. Meta Platforms, due to report after the closing bell, fell 3.0%, while Apple and Amazon.com dipped 1.2% and 3.2%, respectively.
Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading lower, with communications services touching a near one-month low, while consumer discretionary and real estate were among top laggards.
Wall Street rises as forecasts lift sentiment
Even after cutting its 737 delivery forecast for this year, Boeing advanced 1.9% on sticking to its goal of generating $3 billion to $5 billion in free cash flow and beating third-quarter revenue estimates.
Defense contractor General Dynamics rose 3.5% after reporting a jump in third-quarter revenue.
Of the 118 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far, 81% have beaten analysts’ earnings expectations, LSEG data showed on Tuesday. Quarterly earnings are expected to grow 1.7% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, Israel intensified its overnight bombing of southern Gaza, where officials said record numbers of Palestinians had been killed again, as violence flared elsewhere in the region and a showdown loomed at the U.N. on Wednesday over desperately needed aid.
At 9:35 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 85.11 points, or 0.26%, at 33,226.49, the S&P 500 was down 26.72 points, or 0.63%, at 4,220.96, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 162.46 points, or 1.24%, at 12,977.42.
Third-quarter gross domestic product, durable goods and personal consumption expenditure data scheduled for the rest of the week will also be in focus.
U.S. Federal Reserve officials were under a media blackout ahead of their decision on interest rates on Nov. 1.
Among other stocks, Texas Instruments shed 2.7% after the analog chipmaker forecast fourth-quarter revenue and profit below estimates.
CoStar Group dropped 6.1% after the real estate information provider trimmed its annual revenue outlook.
Casino operators MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment fell 2.2% and 3.4%, respectively, after the Detroit City Council passed a resolution supporting striking casino workers.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.99-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 2.41-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded no new 52-week high and 32 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 11 new highs and 144 new lows.
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