New York stock market starts lower as Alphabet's performance digests

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jeong-won Yoon, Yonhap Infomax = The three major stock indices of the New York Stock Exchange started lower after digesting the announcement of economic indicators such as Alphabet's performance and personal consumption expenditures (PCE).

As of 9:54 a.m. on the 29th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the New York Stock Exchange recorded 52,324.87, down 150.23 points (0.29%) from the previous day. The Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index was down 36.33 points (0.47%) from the previous day to 7,707.65, and the Nasdaq composite index was down 419.19 points (1.58%) from the previous day to 26,130.66.

Alphabet's earnings announcement, announced after the market closed the previous day, dampened investor sentiment, especially in technology stocks.

Alphabet announced that its revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 was $127.577 billion, a 25% increase compared to the same period last year. It fell short of the market expectation of $128.22 billion surveyed by financial information company LSEG.

In addition, capital expenditures (CAPEX) in the third quarter surged 114% compared to the previous year to $51.355 billion. The growth rate has expanded compared to the last 2 quarters (+100%).

Free cash flow (FCF) excluding CAPEX also showed negative results for two consecutive quarters. FCF in the third quarter was a deficit of $9.065 billion, worse than the second quarter (-$5.855 billion), which was the first negative FCF since listing in 2004.

Alphabet's stock price plummeted 12.90%.

The semiconductor industry also showed weakness. AMD fell 2.67% and Intel fell 3.82%.

On this day, the core PCE index and third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) were also announced.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the core PCE price index, which excludes highly volatile food and energy, rose 0.3% in September compared to the previous month. The PCE price index for all products rose 0.5% compared to the previous month. September's figures were all in line with market expectations.

Meanwhile, GDP (preliminary figure) in the third quarter was calculated to have increased by 3.4% at an annual rate compared to the previous quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis. This is the highest growth rate in a year since the third quarter of last year (+3.9%).

Not only did the growth rate steepen compared to the second quarter (+2.2%), but it also exceeded the market forecast of a 3.2% increase.

“Investors are starting to take a closer look at when monetization will occur versus how quickly cash is burned through capital expenditures,” said Jeremy Scholzberg, vice president at Check Capital Management.

Looking at each industry, healthcare and finance were strong, while technology and communications were weak.

Marvell Technology's stock price fell 13.08% following media reports that it was in final negotiations to acquire Lumentum Holdings, a data center optical equipment manufacturer.

The stock price of DoorDash, the largest delivery platform in the United States, rose 5.59% as it decided to acquire rival Instacart for about $17 billion.

Chipotle Mexican Grill's stock price rose 7.09% as same-store sales increased 2.1% in the third quarter, exceeding market expectations of 1.5%.

European stock markets all showed an upward trend.

The Euro STOXX 50 index is trading at 6,208.41, up 0.66% from the previous day. Germany's DAX index and France's CAC40 index rose 1.42% and 1.25%, respectively, and Britain's FTSE 100 index rose 0.71%.

International oil prices fell.

At the same time, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil for delivery in December 2026, a nearby contract, is recording $100.03 per barrel, down 2.68% from the previous price.