Wednesday October 26th

U.S. stock markets index futures fell Wednesday after disappointing third-quarter results from Alphabet and weak revenue guidance from Microsoft marked a foreboding start to Big Tech earnings this week. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.9% and 1.9%, respectively. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures lost 95 points, or 0.1%, with Visa buoying the index after beating expectations on earnings and revenue when reporting its fourth-quarter earnings. Wednesday’s early performance is a turn from the past three days of the major indexes rising. On Tuesday, the Nasdaq ended up 2.2%, while the S&P 500 and Dow added 1.6% and 1.1% higher, respectively. Tuesday’s close marked the first time in October the major indexes rallied three days in a row. Shares of Google-parent Alphabet dropped 6% in the premarket. The online search giant missed expectations on the top and bottom lines. Alphabet also reported a decline in YouTube ad revenue, which spurred investors to deliberate the outlook for other tech companies that rely on ad spending. Meanwhile, Microsoft declined about 6% after the tech giant reported weaker-than-expected cloud revenue in its latest quarterly results, despite beating earnings and revenue estimates. The company also issued current-quarter revenue guidance that fell short of expectations. “I think we have to take a big picture perspective and recognize that no one’s really immune in this market, there is a slowdown in digital ad spend,” Sand Hill Global Advisors’ Brenda Vingiello said Tuesday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime.” Other mega-cap tech stocks declined in after hours trading on the back of Alphabet and Microsoft as investors focus in on tech this week. Shares of Meta Platforms fell 4%, and Amazon slipped 3.8%. A mixed bag so far, corporate earnings season continues Wednesday. Kraft Heinz shares rose after the company reported beating revenue and earnings per share expectations before the bell. Meta was among the companies also set to report. Mortgage applications decreased as rate levels continued to depress demand, according to weekly data released Wednesday. Traders are also watching for the latest economic data on weekly wholesale inventories and new home sales. Bond yields continued to retreat coming off a period of volatile trading. Shares in the Asia-Pacific rose Wednesday as sentiment overnight improved over the Fed potentially turning less aggressive. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1% at 15,317.67 after three consecutive negative sessions. The Hang Seng Tech index gained 2.48%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite added 0.78% to 2,999.50 and the Shenzhen Component gained 1.678% to 10,818.33 – the China Securities Regulatory Commission on Tuesday said it intends to expedite the development of a “regulated, transparent open, lively and resilient” market. Australia’s annual consumer price index reached the highest since December 1990. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.18% to 6,810.90. The Nikkei 225 in Japan rose 0.67% to 27,431.84, and the Topix gained 0.58% to 1,918.21. South Korea’s Kospi gained 0.65% to 2,249.56. Oil prices were broadly stable on Wednesday, moving in and out of negative territory after industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected last week, though supply concerns and a weaker dollar gave support. Brent crude futures for December were up 12 cents, or 0.1%, at $93.64 a barrel by 1045 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for December were up 37 cents, or 0.4%, at $85.69 a barrel. Gold prices jumped over 1% on Wednesday as the dollar and bond yields weakened amid signs that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hikes were dampening inflationary pressures, prompting speculation that it could shift to smaller rate rises. Spot gold gained 1.3% to $1,674.09 per ounce by 0905 GMT, touching its highest since Oct. 13. U.S. gold futures rose 1.3% to $1,678.60.