US open: Wall Street mixed as Alphabet drags on Nasdaq

Wall Street was trading on a mixed note early on after some mixed reactions to quarterly earnings from heavyweights Alphabet and Microsoft.

As of 1628 BST, the Dow Jones Industrials was adding 0.31% to 33,244.95, boosted by shares of Microsoft.

The 9% drop in Google parent Alphabet on the other hand was dragging the Nasdaq Composite down by 1.38% to 12,958.95.

Alphabet's third-quarter revenues were up 11% at $77bn, but top-line growth in cloud slowed to a worse-than-expected 22%. Futures were down 6.6% by 0519 ET.

In contrast, shares of Microsoft were changing hands at up by 2% after the company reported a 13% jump in revenues for its fiscal first quarter to $56.5bn, helped by strong demand for cloud computing services. The company also guided to $60.4-61.4bn in revenues for the second quarter, well ahead of the $58.7bn consensus estimate.

"Microsoft and Alphabet both delivered better than expected earnings although there was some divergence in the reaction, with the former higher and the latter lower on their respective numbers. Microsoft’s head start in AI seems to be paying off, while Alphabet appears to be in catch-up mode on both this and cloud computing," said AJ Bell's head of financial analysis Danni Hewson.

In the background, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was climbing nine basis points to 4.918%.

According to the Department of Commerce, sales of new single-family homes jumped at a month-on-month pace of 12.3% in September to reach an annual rate of 759,000 (consensus: 684,000).

After the closing bell, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell was scheduled to give a speech, which would be closely watched ahead of key economic data over the next few days.

Thursday would see the release of third-quarter GDP figures, with analysts expecting a pick-up in annual economic growth to 4.2% or 4.3%, from 2.1% in the second quarter.

"The Federal Reserve's objective is to achieve below-trend growth to curb inflation. However, a growth rate of 4.3% is considerably above trend and is not conducive to maintaining price stability. The current economic environment is characterized by excess demand and limited supply across various sectors. If the growth matches the estimates, it will mark the fastest expansion rate since Q4 of 2021," said Stephen Innes, managing partner at API Asset Management.

"While it may seem straightforward to argue against another rate hike given the strong personal consumption figures and robust job market, the nuances suggest a more complex picture. The longer lags in the current economic environment, the ongoing adjustment in labour supply, and various factors affecting inflation and wages all contribute to the decision-making process."

On Friday, the much-anticipated personal consumption expenditures index – the Fed's preferred measure of inflation – is forecast to show that core inflation slowed to an annual rate of 3.7% in September from 3.9% in August.

Dow Jones - Risers

Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $162.88 3.14%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $340.20 2.93%
Visa Inc. (V) $237.72 1.31%
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) $104.18 1.12%
Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) $529.61 0.88%
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $259.08 0.70%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $55.89 0.45%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $163.82 0.35%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $138.24 0.33%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $250.02 0.19%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $33.53 -3.06%
Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $48.00 -2.52%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $200.57 -1.78%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $33.81 -1.41%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $21.12 -1.18%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $81.92 -0.78%
3M Co. (MMM) $89.48 -0.71%
Boeing Co. (BA) $181.14 -0.67%
Home Depot Inc. (HD) $281.46 -0.65%
Chevron Corp. (CVX) $155.80 -0.54%

S&P 500 - Risers

Gap Inc. (GPS) $13.26 6.81%
Waste Management Inc. (WM) $164.34 6.28%
Wabtec Corp. (WAB) $105.10 5.16%
Robert Half Inc. (RHI) $75.63 4.85%
F5 Inc. (FFIV) $155.25 4.73%
Moody's Corp. (MCO) $319.92 4.68%
Gen Dynamics Corp. (GD) $242.58 4.11%
Republic Services Inc. (RSG) $148.11 3.36%
Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $162.88 3.14%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $340.20 2.93%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $127.81 -8.79%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $126.78 -8.66%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $220.91 -8.13%
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO) $425.63 -7.12%
Fortive Corporation (FTV) $66.01 -6.03%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $51.85 -4.41%
Sl Green Realty Corp. (SLG) $30.18 -4.31%
Global Payments Inc. (GPN) $106.87 -4.15%
Norfolk Southern Corp. (NSC) $189.10 -3.64%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $73.34 -3.54%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $340.20 2.93%
Tesla Inc (TSLA) $219.50 1.38%
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance Inc. (ULTA) $383.81 1.24%
Fiserv Inc. (FI) $116.79 1.17%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $43.41 1.05%
Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR) $108.89 0.80%
PACCAR Inc. (PCAR) $85.43 0.71%
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) $95.21 0.62%
Monster Beverage Corp (MNST) $50.34 0.58%
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) $2,848.58 0.47%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOG) $127.81 -8.79%
Alphabet Inc. Class A (GOOGL) $126.78 -8.66%
Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP) $220.91 -8.13%
Paypal Holdings Inc (PYPL) $51.85 -4.41%
Microchip Technology Inc. (MCHP) $73.34 -3.54%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $141.90 -3.41%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $124.21 -3.39%
Intel Corp. (INTC) $33.53 -3.06%
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $257.90 -2.85%
Paychex Inc. (PAYX) $113.95 -2.71%