United States stocks finished lower on Thursday (Friday AEDT) as market participants weighed a flurry of major technology earnings and the outcome of President Donald Trump’s closely watched meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 109.9 points, or 0.2%, to close at 47,522.1. The S&P 500 fell 68.3 points, or 1%, to 6,822.3, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 377.3 points, or 1.6%, to 23,581.1.
Megacap technology shares were at the centre of the selloff. Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Microsoft all reported quarterly results after Wednesday’s closing bell, with mixed reactions from investors.
Alphabet’s stock rose 2.5% after showing solid gains in both advertising and cloud services.
But Meta shares tumbled 11.3% after the company warned that capital spending would be “notably larger” next year due to intensified investment in artificial intelligence.
Microsoft stock also slipped 2.9% after reporting record capital expenditures of nearly $35 billion for its fiscal first quarter and warning of further increases ahead.
While technology stocks weighed on sentiment, gains in banks and healthcare helped limit broader losses. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America advanced 1.3% and 0.9%, respectively, while shares of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly jumped 3.8% after the company delivered stronger-than-expected quarterly results and raised its full-year guidance.
Drug distributor Cardinal Health also rallied after lifting its annual adjusted profit outlook, while restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill fell sharply after withdrawing its annual sales forecast, citing inflation and tariff-related margin pressure.
Markets also reacted to trade developments after the Trump-Xi meeting concluded. Trump announced that the U.S. would cut fentanyl-related tariffs on Chinese imports to 10%, lowering the overall levy on Chinese goods to 47% from 57%.
Trump and Beijing also confirmed that China agreed to pause recently announced export controls on its valuable rare earths minerals for one year.
However, several unresolved issues remain, including the export of Nvidia’s advanced chips and the U.S. demand for a forced divestiture of TikTok.
Thursday’s losses followed a mixed session the day prior, as the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq all touched record intraday highs before reversing course.
The shift came after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled the central bank may hold off on cutting interest rates at its December meeting, tempering investor optimism.
On the bond markets, the 10-year yield added 0.5% to 4.097%, while the 2-year yield rose 0.3% to 3.608%.
