Tech jitters pull down Wall Street stocks

Yahoo Finance · 2026-10-29

Tech jitters pull down Wall Street stocks AFP Thu, October 29, 2026 at 10:05 AM EDT 4 min read GOOG -12.15% EUR=X +0.16% CL=F -1.80% SHEL +2.43% TTE +1.64% Wall Street's main stock indices flashed red Thursday as investors dropped shares in the parent company of Google following results that flamed concerns over whether the global technology boom can be sustained. After a mostly downbeat showing across Asia, Europe's main stock indices advanced, with the European Central Bank leaving interest rates unchanged after the Federal Reserve maintained US borrowing costs on Wednesday. The euro dipped however as Christine Lagarde announced she would step down as the ECB's president in February. "Buoyed by strong corporate results, European markets chalked up strong gains on Thursday, bucking the negative trend seen in Asia overnight," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. Bumper profits for oil giants Shell and TotalEnergies helped lift the London and Paris stock markets. Both companies benefited from disruptions to oil and gas supplies in the Middle East, which boosted prices and refining margins. Crude prices shed around two percent, however, on reports of renewed diplomatic efforts between the United States and Iran to avoid further strikes. Wall Street opened lower, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropping 1.4 percent. Shares in Alphabet plunged after it reported after Wednesday's close lower-than-expected profit while it maintained big spending on artificial intelligence. "The stock quickly fell over 10 percent as investors clocked a sharp drop in free cash flow, along with a slowdown in Google's search engine growth," said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison. There are concerns that the growing prominence of AI search will undermine Google's search engine and the juggernaut ad business built around it. Underwhelming results from South Korea's Samsung Electronics also added to doubts about the returns on AI spending. Samsung, the world's largest maker of memory chips, delivered record quarterly profits but missed market expectations in its semiconductor division. South Korea's Kospi shares index closed down 1.2 percent, while Hong Kong and Shanghai also fell. Tokyo finished higher. In other tech news, Microsoft posted forecast-topping revenue and profit, fuelled by its Azure cloud computing division. Its shares added 0.8 percent. "Tech earnings will remain in focus today with Amazon and Intel reporting" after the US close, said Deutsche Bank's Jim Reid. Markets had enjoyed a healthy run-up in the previous two days as traders welcomed strong reports from South Korean chip titan SK hynix and an impressive IPO filing from Claude-creator Anthropic. There was little major reaction to the Federal Reserve's widely expected decision to hold interest rates, as it cited the need for more data in the fight against inflation, which has held stubbornly above officials' two-percent target for five years. Two dissenting members of the panel voted for an immediate interest rate increase. Personal consumption expenditures data, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, showed that core prices that exclude volatile food and energy products rose by 3.1 percent year-on-year in September. "Both headline and core PCE rose to their highest levels since May, underscoring that inflation remains a stubborn issue," said eToro US investment analyst Bret Kenwell. Over three-quarters of investors believe the Fed will raise interest rates in December, according to CME's FedWatch tool. Meanwhile the US economy grew at a better-than-expected annualised rate of 3.4 percent in the third quarter, beating expectations. New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 52,269.56 points New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,708.39 New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 1.4 percent at 26,191.66 London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 10,762.02 Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.2 percent at 7,978.04 Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.3 percent at 26,191.66 Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.1 percent at 64,659.47 (close) Seoul - Kospi: DOWN 1.2 percent at 5,937.66 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.6 percent at 22,958.65 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,651.43 (close) West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.3 percent at $100.39 per barrel Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 1.8 percent at $113.28 per barrel Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1125 from $1.1154 on Wednesday Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3318 from $1.3320 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 158.00 yen from 158.03 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.55 pence from 83.71 pence

AI 시장 분석

Wall Street closed lower due to Alphabet's disappointing earnings and AI investment concerns. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4 percent, and Samsung Electronics' sluggish semiconductor performance also put downward pressure on tech stocks overall. On the other hand, European stock markets rose, driven by strong earnings from Shell and TotalEnergies.

상승 영향

Energy — Oil prices and refining margins rose due to oil and gas supply disruptions in the Middle East, lifting the stock prices of energy companies such as Shell and TotalEnergies by 2.43% and 1.64%, respectively.

하락 영향

AI — Alphabet's stock plunged 12.15% as free cash flow sharply declined and search advertising growth slowed despite maintaining massive AI investments.
Semiconductors — Samsung Electronics recorded earnings below market expectations in its semiconductor division despite a record quarterly profit, worsening investor sentiment toward tech stocks.

DYAX 전담 분석

Alphabet shares plummeted over 12 percent on concerns over a sharp drop in free cash flow and a slowdown in search business growth, significantly dampening tech investment sentiment. Conversely, Shell and TotalEnergies rose 2.4 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, bolstered by Middle East risks and improved refining margins.

The bullish scenario is the confirmation of tangible revenues from cloud and AI sectors, while the bearish scenario is the persistent concern over profitability relative to astronomical AI investments. Investors should closely monitor upcoming earnings releases from Amazon and Intel, as well as inflation indicators related to the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.

AI가 생성한 분석으로 투자 자문이 아닙니다.

DYAX Investor Sentiment

Bullish (Long) 51% · Bearish (Short) 49%

523 participants

Related News

원문 보기 — Yahoo Finance