US stocks finished lower on Wednesday ahead of the kickoff of earnings season for mega-cap technology companies. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1%, the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5%, and the Dow Jones edged down modestly. Software names came under pressure ahead of Alphabet’s (-1.5%) results, with Microsoft down 1.9% and Meta off 2.6%. The technology sector remained volatile as investors reassessed whether AI hyperscalers will continue to ramp up hardware spending. Tesla also declined ahead of its earnings release.
Most chipmakers, however, rebounded from earlier losses: Nvidia gained 2.3%, Broadcom advanced 2.7%, and AMD rose 1.4%. Meanwhile, tensions between the US and Iran intensified after Iranian drone attacks reportedly targeted CIA-linked facilities in the Gulf. Oil prices extended their gains, stoking inflation worries and pushing Treasury yields higher.
Financials were mixed, with Visa down 0.7% while JPMorgan added 0.9%. AT&T climbed 3.5% after topping earnings estimates, helping lift the broader telecom sector.
