Nasdaq-100 futures took a notable hit on Wednesday night as investors grappled with conflicting signals from the world’s largest technology companies. While Microsoft saw its shares climb three percent following strong growth in its Azure cloud division, Alphabet faced a sharp nine percent decline after failing to meet revenue and earnings expectations. The disappointment was compounded by a significant negative free cash flow of over nine billion dollars, sparking concerns about the cost of maintaining aggressive artificial intelligence investments.
The volatility extended beyond the giants of search and software, as ServiceNow shares plummeted eighteen percent in after-hours trading after missing profit targets. At the same time, rumors of a potential acquisition sent ripples through the semiconductor space, with Lumentum shares surging eleven percent amid reports that Marvell Technology is in talks to purchase the optics maker. These swings highlight a fragile environment for AI-related stocks, which have spent much of October struggling despite a brief recovery earlier in the week fueled by gains from Micron and Broadcom.
Adding to the tension is a cautious stance from the Federal Reserve, which opted to keep interest rates steady between 3.75 percent and 4 percent. Although some analysts view the move as mildly dovish, others suggest it is simply an exercise in patience as policymakers wait for clearer evidence that inflation is under control. The central bank noted that prices remain elevated, keeping the possibility of future tightening on the table depending on upcoming economic data.
Attention now shifts to Thursday’s slate of critical releases, including the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index and initial third-quarter GDP figures. On the corporate side, markets are bracing for earnings reports from Amazon and Intel later in the evening. For Amazon specifically, investors will be scrutinizing growth within its AWS cloud business and any signs of increased adoption for its proprietary Trainium chips to see if it can avoid the pitfalls encountered by Alphabet.