Risk aversion swept across markets on Thursday as investor disappointment over third-quarter tech earnings triggered the steepest drop in major U.S. indices in nearly two months.
Microsoft Corp. (NYSE:MSFT) plummeted over 5% by midday trading in New York, on track for its worst session in two years. Although the company surpassed earnings estimates, it forecasted slower growth in its Azure cloud business, dampening future revenue expectations.
Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) also declined by over 4% despite a strong quarterly performance, as the social media giant projected “significant” capital expenditure growth next year, particularly for AI infrastructure.
The elite “Magnificent Seven” tech group shed nearly $500 billion in market capitalization within a single day after reaching a record high of $16.8 trillion. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) are set to report earnings after the market close.
In economic news, inflation sent mixed signals for September. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index slowed as expected to 2.1% annually, while the Fed's preferred inflation measure, the core PCE price index, remained at 2.7% year over year, slightly above the expected 2.6%.
The S&P 500 dropped 1.4%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 slid 2.2%, both tracking their worst session since Sept. 6. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) surged 12%.
Risk aversion also weighed on commodities, with gold prices dropping 1.7%, marking their worst day since July, and silver plunging 3% after a 2% decline on Wednesday.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) slid 2.4%, and crypto-related stocks suffered significant losses. Coinbase Global Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) tumbled over 10% on disappointing earnings, eyeing its worst day since May.
Thursday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs
| Major Indices | Price | 1-day %chg |
| Dow Jones | 41,832.30 | -0.7% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,213.10 | -0.9% |
| S&P 500 | 5,729.43 | -1.4% |
| Nasdaq 100 | 19,943.07 | -2.2% |
According to Benzinga Pro data:
- The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) fell 1.5% to $571.51.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE:DIA) fell 0.8% to $418.60.
- The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ:QQQ) tumbled 2.2% to $485.78.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) fell 0.7% to $219.65.
- The Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU) outperformed, rising 1.4%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK) lagged, down 2.4%.
Thursday’s Stock Movers
Stocks reacting to corporate earnings were:
- Booking Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:BKNG), up over 5%,
- Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), up 1.7%,
- Starbucks Corp. (NYSE:SBUX), down 0.6%,
- eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY), down over 8%,
- MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR), up 1.9%,
- Carvana Co. (NYSE:CVNA), up 24%,
- Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA), down 1.8%,
- Merck & Company Inc. (NYSE:MRK), down 2.8%,
- Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN), down 2.9%,
- Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ:CMCSA), up 2.9%,
- Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER), down over 11%,
- Eaton Corp. plc (NYSE:ETN), down 5%,
- ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), up 6%,
- Bristo-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY), up 3.3%,
- Southern Company (NYSE:SO), up 2.2%,
- Altria Group Inc. (NYSE:MO), up 7.6%,
- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:REGN), down 9%,
- The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI), up 3%,
- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:NCLH), up over 9%.
- Cheniere Energy Inc. (NYSE:LNG), up over 5%.
Large-cap companies slated to report their earnings after the close include Apple Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC), Atlassian Corp. (NASDAQ:TEAM) and Coterra Energy Inc. (NYSE:CTRA).
Read Next:
- Microsoft ‘In Major Growth Mode,’ Not Slowing Down: 4 Analysts See Strong Azure Demand, AI Monetization Efforts
Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.
