Investing.com — The S&P 500 fell sharply on Wednesday, weighed down by technology stocks after disappointing second-quarter earnings from heavyweights Alphabet and Tesla.
At 14:57 ET (18:57 GMT), the was down 410 points, or 1%, the was down 2.1% and the was down 3.4%.
Tesla plunges on disappointing earnings and poor outlook
Tesla (NASDAQ:) shares fell nearly 10% after its second-quarter earnings missed estimates amid a slump in vehicle sales.
Tesla's profit margins fell to a five-year low as the electric vehicle maker aggressively cut prices to meet rising competition in key markets such as China.
Some on Wall Street remained bullish on stocks despite margin pressures amid optimism about future growth opportunities, including robotaxis.
“While margin weakness is weighing on the stock… the next phase of Tesla's growth story revolves around autonomy, robotaxis and ai for Musk and company in our view, and that vision is right around the corner,” Wedbush said in a note.
Alphabet falls despite beating results; Seagate rises
Alphabet (NASDAQ:), Google's parent company, fell 5% even as its second-quarter earnings beat expectations thanks to rising advertising sales and strong demand for its cloud services.
Alphabet saw outperformance in its Search and Cloud businesses offset by “underperformance in YouTube, largely due to tough comparisons and continued weakness in the Google Network,” Deutsche Bank said in a note.
Seagate technology PLC (NASDAQ:) shrugged off the malaise in the technology sector after rising 5% following fiscal fourth-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates, amid surging demand for ai-driven data storage.
Fed's Dudley changes his mind, calls for rate cuts next week
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Bill Dudley on Wednesday called for the Fed to cut rates as early as next week amid concerns about a recession, reversing his long-held view that the U.S. central bank persist with its higher-rate regime for longer.
“The facts have changed, so I've changed my mind. The Fed should cut, preferably at next week's policy meeting,” Dudley said ahead of the Fed's July 30-31 policy meeting.
Visa revenue misses estimates, AT&T surprises with positive results
Beyond technology, Visa (NYSE:) reported third-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates, but growth in payments volume pointing to a weakening consumer sentiment weighed on sentiment and sent the stock down 3%.
“The marginal consumer side appears to be weakening as US trends through July 21 slowed modestly with PV growth up 4% versus 5%,” RBC said in a Wednesday note.
Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:) shares were flat after the chipmaker reported a solid second-quarter earnings beat, with adjusted earnings per share beating estimates.
AT&T (NYSE:) shares rose 4% after the telecom giant beat market expectations for wireless subscriber additions in the second quarter as its top-tier unlimited plans attracted customers.
(Peter Nurse and Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
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