U.S. stocks fell for another session on Thursday as investors took a risk-off stance, sending popular technology trades and bitcoin lower.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost about 592.58 points, or 1.20%, to end at 48,908.72. The S&P 500 lost 1.23%, closing at 6,798.40 and landing in negative territory for the year. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.59% to end at 22,540.59. The Dow, which includes 30 stocks, fell nearly 700 points, or about 1.4%, at session lows, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq fell 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively.
Alphabeth was the last of the “Magnificent Seven” companies to announce earnings results. The firm has projected a sharp rise in AI spending that has spooked some investors, predicting capital expenditures for 2026 of up to $185 billion, SEEbiz reports. Shares lost 0.5%. But Broadcom shares rose nearly 1% on news of Alphabet’s spending plans, offering some hope for AI trading as the market deciphers its winners and losers.
“The fact that some of these firms are announcing and announcing only additional capital investments – and they are astronomical at the moment – we actually see that as a positive sign for the health of the market in general, because … it’s more about the market being insightful at the moment, not just irrational exuberance,” said Stephen Tuckwood, chief investment officer at Modern Wealth Management.
Along with Alphabet, Qualcomm came under pressure, falling more than 8% after reporting a weaker-than-expected forecast due to global memory shortages.
Elsewhere, the sell-off in the cryptocurrency market continued to gain momentum, as bitcoin fell below $64,000 after earlier sinking below the $70,000 mark – seen as a key support level. In the area of precious metals, the pressure on silver continued. Metal prices ended their two-day recovery and fell by as much as 16%. Last Friday they fell by almost 30%.
