US stocks declined on Thursday as investors assessed a fresh wave of Big Tech earnings and the outcome of President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 131 points, or 0.3%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.8%.
Shares of megacap tech companies moved sharply after earnings.
Alphabet gained about 4% following strong quarterly results, but Meta Platforms slumped roughly 12% and Microsoft eased nearly 2% as investors grew cautious about their higher spending forecasts.
On the trade front, Trump said the US will cut fentanyl-related tariffs on China to 10%, bringing the overall levy on Chinese imports down to 47% from 57%.
In exchange, Beijing will resume purchases of US soybeans and other agricultural products and delay new restrictions on rare earth exports by a year.
“Rare earth issue has been settled,” Trump said.
Unresolved issues remain, including the export of Nvidia chips and the forced divestiture of TikTok’s US operations.
China’s Ministry of Commerce said it is willing to work with Washington to address concerns over TikTok but offered no additional details.
The session followed a mixed performance on Wall Street a day earlier.
The Dow briefly hit a record before ending slightly lower, the S&P 500 finished flat, and the Nasdaq rose nearly 0.6%.
Investors continued to parse comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who signalled uncertainty over another rate cut in December.
“A further reduction in the policy rate at the December meeting is not a foregone conclusion. Far from it,” he said.
The Fed had lowered its benchmark rate by 25 basis points on Wednesday, bringing the target range to 3.75%–4%.
Big tech earnings
Alphabet, Meta, and Microsoft all reported results that exceeded analyst forecasts, while projecting higher capital expenditure through 2026.
The companies said spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure will remain strong amid growing demand for AI services.
Apple and Amazon are scheduled to report results next.
Wall Street expects Amazon.com Inc. to post quarterly earnings of $1.57 per share on revenue of $177.9 billion.
Apple Inc. is projected to report earnings of $1.77 per share on revenue of $102.17 billion for the latest quarter.
The company will release results after market close.
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