Alphabet Earnings Drop Jolts Global Markets, U.S. Futures Mixed

Investors in Central Florida and across the nation saw mixed signals in global markets Thursday following a disappointing quarterly report from Alphabet, the parent company of Google. The tech giant's stock fell approximately 10% in after-hours trading Wednesday after its revenue figures missed investor expectations. This decline cast a shadow over the broader technology sector, which had recently driven market gains through high expectations for artificial intelligence applications.

Asian trading sessions reflected the uncertainty. In South Korea, the Kospi index lost 2.2% to close at 5,880.25. Samsung Electronics, a major component of that index, saw its shares drop 5.4% despite reporting strong quarterly results. The decline followed a new shareholder return policy that failed to satisfy some investors. Conversely, memory chipmaker SK Hynix rose 1.6%, extending a 10.9% gain from the previous day after it also announced better-than-expected earnings.

Other Asian markets showed varied performance. Japan’s Nikkei 225 edged up 0.2% to 64,073.17, while SoftBank Group shares, a known investor in OpenAI, fell 0.5%. The Taiex in Taiwan declined 1.9%, and the Shanghai Composite index in China shed 0.9% to 3,647.12. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5% to 8,888.50, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index moved slightly higher to 23,101.86.

In the United States, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady during its policy meeting that concluded Wednesday. Two Fed officials voted in favor of a rate hike, a move analysts say is likely in December because inflation remains elevated. On Wall Street, Microsoft shares gained nearly 3% in after-hours trading after the company logged earnings that exceeded expectations, providing a counterbalance to Alphabet's slide.

Commodity and currency markets also shifted. Oil prices fell more than 1% as U.S. officials warned that renewed military action against Iran could occur after the November 3 midterm elections. Brent crude, the international standard, dropped 1.2% to $110.32 per barrel. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 1.3% to $101.46 per barrel. The U.S. dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, falling to 157.72 from 157.84.

Traders will look to the European Central Bank later Thursday for its policy decision. The Bank of Japan is expected to keep its rates unchanged when it concludes its meeting on Friday. In bond markets, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury eased to below 5.00% after briefly spiking to 5.04% on Wednesday. The two-year Treasury yield steadied at 4.68%, down from a high of 4.77% the previous day.