Alphabet fell 12.6% on Thursday, its worst session since Google went public in 2004. The drop surpassed the prior record of 11.63% from March 2020, erasing roughly $500 billion in market value.
After the close, Amazon missed on both lines and Intel guided Q4 revenue well below consensus. Friday's open carries a second wave of mega-cap selling on top of Thursday's damage.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.30% to 7,720.39, snapping a three-day winning streak. The Nasdaq dropped 1.38% to 26,184, now more than 5% below its October 6 record.
Alphabet alone accounted for more than the index's total decline. Caterpillar fell 9.3%, its steepest drop since March 2020 adding to the Dow's 132-point loss to 52,342.
The equal-weight S&P 500 rose 1.20% and the Russell 2000 gained 1.01%. The 1.5-point gap between the two S&P 500 versions shows concentrated pain, and Amazon's and Intel's opens Friday will reveal if it spreads.
Amazon reported $1.89 per share on $201.9 billion in revenue, missing both estimates. AWS grew 39%, its fastest pace in nearly five years, but unchanged $220 billion full-year capex sent shares down about 6% after hours.
Intel beat Q3 at $0.52 versus $0.40, but guided Q4 revenue to $15-16 billion against $17.3 billion expected. Shares fell about 17% in extended trading, a third mega-cap name heading into Friday under pressure.
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The 10-year Treasury yield fell 7 basis points to 4.98%, back below 5% for the first time since October 27. Q3 GDP beat at 3.4% versus the 3.2% consensus, core PCE matched at 3.1% year-over-year, and weekly claims dipped to 194,000.
The equity selloff overrode that uniformly solid growth data, pulling money into bonds. The 2-year yield shed 6 basis points to 4.61%, and Friday's Employment Cost Index will test whether the safety bid lasts.
WTI crude slipped about 0.8% to $102.00, after reports that Vice President Vance sent a diplomatic letter to Iranian officials. The retreat from Wednesday's $102.78 settle, like the yield drop, reinforced a session defined by flows into safety.
Exxon and Chevron report before Friday's bell. With crude still above $100, upstream results should be strong, but spending guidance will carry more weight for a market fixated on capital returns.
The Q3 Employment Cost Index arrives at 8:30 a.m. ET, with consensus at 0.8% versus the prior 0.9%. A beat would bolster the wage-pressure case the two Fed dissenters made Wednesday.
Chicago PMI follows at 9:45 a.m., expected at 56.1 versus September's 58.8. The open itself hinges less on the data than on how much of Thursday's after-hours damage in Amazon and Intel reaches the first print.
