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Investing.com — The S&P 500 gave up gains to trade lower Wednesday, weighed down by a rout in Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet following underwhelming quarterly results.
The S&P 500 fell 0.71%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% or 8 points, and the Nasdaq was down 1.86%.
Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) fell more than 8% after its third-quarter revenue and profit fell short of Wall Street estimates amid the impact from slower advertising revenue that is expected to continue.
“Management’s Q4 outlook for overall advertising business to continue to be impacted by difficult YoY comps and con’t headwinds within certain ad verticals & formats,” Goldman Sachs said in a note.
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META), which will report earnings after the closing bell, fell sharply as results from the social media giant are expected to reflect the weaker backdrop for advertising demand.
Microsoft, meanwhile, fell more than 7% as weaker growth in its cloud business Azure and software guidance overshadowed quarterly results that topped Wall Street estimates.
“The biggest surprise was that core Azure/Office 365 implied growth was reduced (more than expected) as an enterprise spending slowdown is well underway and MSFT is guiding accordingly,” Wedbush said as it cut its price target on Microsoft to $290 from $320.
Energy, up more than 1%, bucked the broader trend lower, led by gains in Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES), ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), and Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL).
Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) rose more than 4% after reporting better-than-expected quarterly results, driven by stronger production.
Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) was boosted by an upgrade from Wells Fargo to overweight from equalweight, citing room for further gains in oil prices.
Visa (NYSE:V), meanwhile, gained 5% after reporting quarterly results that topped estimates on both the top and bottom lines, driven by ongoing consumer spending and a recovery in cross border activity.
