New York — U.S. equities slipped Thursday as investors digested a heavy wave of Big Tech earnings along with renewed trade developments between Washington and Beijing. The S&P 500 declined 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.9%, pressured by sharp pullbacks in several megacap technology names. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, however, managed a 0.6% gain, supported by strength in industrials, health care, and financial stocks.
Tech remained under scrutiny following mixed quarterly results late Wednesday. Alphabet surged roughly 5% after delivering stronger-than-expected cloud and advertising revenue. In contrast, Meta Platforms tumbled 11% and Microsoft shed 3% as both companies outlined higher capital-spending plans tied to artificial intelligence infrastructure. Nvidia, another cornerstone of the AI trade, also traded lower, signaling a rotation away from high-growth tech and toward value-oriented sectors.
“It’s a value day,” said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management. “Given how aggressively tech has led for months, a pause is natural and even healthy. That said, AI infrastructure spending remains extremely strong.”
Banking shares including JPMorgan and Bank of America climbed, joined by broad gains in health-care stocks. Eli Lilly rallied 4% after lifting full-year guidance on robust demand for its weight-loss and diabetes treatments.
Trump–Xi Meeting Sparks Fresh Trade Moves
Trade policy was back in focus after President Donald Trump agreed to cut tariffs on Chinese fentanyl-related imports to 10%, lowering the broader levy on Chinese goods to 47% from 57%. In return, Beijing committed to crack down on fentanyl flows into the United States and purchase U.S. soybeans and agricultural products. China also delayed a new round of rare-earth export restrictions by one year.
“Rare earth issue has been settled,” Trump said.
Analysts warn that unresolved disputes linger, including the U.S. push to restrict Nvidia’s chip exports and ongoing TikTok divestiture talks.
“This is not at all over,” Ellerbroek noted. “Trade volatility tied to Trump will remain a feature of capital markets as long as he’s in office.”
Semiconductors Under Pressure
Chipmakers, including Broadcom and AMD, traded lower on fears of further export-control turbulence.
“If you want growth exposure to data-center spending, you have to accept geopolitical volatility,” Ellerbroek said. “It’s part of semiconductor investing.”
Fed Signals Possible Pause on Rate Cuts
Markets continued to weigh remarks from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who cautioned that another rate cut in December is “not a foregone conclusion.”
The Fed lowered its benchmark rate by a quarter point on Wednesday, but Powell emphasized that policymakers want better visibility on holiday-season consumer trends and tariff-driven pricing pressure.
Wharton professor Jeremy Siegel said the uncertainty “may slow the bull market, but won’t end it,” pointing to labor-market data and inflation signals coming in November and early December.
Chipotle Suffers Worst Plunge Since 2012
One of the day’s biggest individual moves came from Chipotle, whose shares sank more than 17% after the burrito chain cut same-store-sales expectations for 2025 and reported declining foot traffic among younger diners. This marked the restaurant group’s third downward revision in three quarters.
“Consistent macroeconomic pressures” are weighing on discretionary spending, the company said.
Dow’s Outperformance Narrowly Concentrated
Just five “old-economy” stocks—industrial and health-care names—accounted for nearly all of the Dow’s relative strength. Meanwhile, the index’s three weakest components collectively weighed it down by roughly 200 points.
Because the index is price-weighted, every $1 change in a Dow component moves the benchmark by approximately 6.15 points.
Analysts Trim Boeing Outlook
Separately, Deutsche Bank downgraded Boeing to Hold, citing weaker unit economics and higher capital-spending forecasts following a $4.9 billion charge linked to further delays on the 777X program.
Looking Ahead
With just six weeks until the Fed’s next rate decision, investors face a mix of high-stakes variables:
Tariff-driven holiday pricing
AI-related labor trends
Semiconductor export policy
Potential government-shutdown risk
Consumer-spending data in late November could set the tone for markets into year-end.
For now, Wall Street continues to navigate a delicate balancing act: high-growth tech enthusiasm colliding with political volatility, geopolitical risk, and shifting monetary policy expectations.