Stocks Tumble, Nasdaq 100 Selloffs As Tech Giants Disappoint, Crypto Companies Plummet: What's Driving Markets Thursday?

Risk aversion swept across markets on Thursday as investor disappointment over third-quarter tech earnings triggered the steepest drop in major U.S. indices in nearly two months.

Microsoft Corp. (NYSE:MSFT) plummeted over 5% by midday trading in New York, on track for its worst session in two years. Although the company surpassed earnings estimates, it forecasted slower growth in its Azure cloud business, dampening future revenue expectations.

Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) also declined by over 4% despite a strong quarterly performance, as the social media giant projected “significant” capital expenditure growth next year, particularly for AI infrastructure.

The elite “Magnificent Seven” tech group shed nearly $500 billion in market capitalization within a single day after reaching a record high of $16.8 trillion. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) are set to report earnings after the market close.

In economic news, inflation sent mixed signals for September. The Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index slowed as expected to 2.1% annually, while the Fed's preferred inflation measure, the core PCE price index, remained at ...