SPX: S&P 500 Futures Slip After Google’s Earnings Spoil the Mood Globally

Wall Street’s third straight gain walked into an earnings reality check.

📉 Futures retreat after Wall Street gains

• S&P 500 futures fell about 0.5% overnight, while Nasdaq 100 contracts dropped roughly 1.2% and Dow futures barely moved.
• Alphabet’s earnings disappointment outweighed Microsoft’s stronger showing, leaving technology shares under pressure ahead of Thursday’s session. The AI trade is getting increasingly selective.
• Wednesday’s cash session ended on firmer ground: the S&P 500 gained 0.28%, the Nasdaq added 0.27% and the Dow rose 0.19%. Stocks advanced after the Fed held rates steady, but the earnings releases arriving after the closing bell quickly changed the conversation.

🌏 Big Tech splits, Asian stocks feel it

• Alphabet fell nearly 10% in extended trading, with AI spending and weaker-than-expected earnings overshadowing rapid Cloud growth. Microsoft gained roughly 3% after beating revenue and profit expectations.
• South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2.6%, reversing part of Wednesday’s surge, while China’s CSI 300 lost 0.9%. Samsung slid more than 4% despite record quarterly operating profit. Japan’s Nikkei held a modest 0.3% gain, underscoring the uneven response to otherwise strong technology earnings.
• Oracle supplied another bright spot in US trading, jumping about 10% after outlining a fiscal 2030 revenue target of at least $225 billion and limiting additional fundraising plans.
• Amazon and Intel report Thursday, giving traders another important read on cloud demand and the semiconductor business.

🛢️ Oil, inflation and the next rate test

• Thursday brings US third-quarter GDP, September PCE inflation — the Fed’s preferred inflation measure — and weekly jobless claims, followed by the ECB’s policy decision.
• Oil remains a sizable inflation complication. Brent settled Wednesday at $115.32 and WTI at $102.78 after a Saudi refinery attack renewed supply concerns.
• Gold traded around $4,020 per ounce, while Bitcoin hovered near $80,100 early Thursday. Currency traders also face diverging central-bank decisions: Canada raised rates Wednesday, while New Zealand unexpectedly held steady.