US Stock Market Today: Wall Street Mixed as Meta Slumps 11%, Alphabet Soars 5% Amid Fed Caution

On Thursday, Wall Street had a mixed performance as the investors were considering the quarterly earnings reports from the technology giants and the somewhat reserved tone of the Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who stated that the rate cuts this year are not guaranteed.

Market overview

The S&P 500 was down 0.2%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.6% at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

At 9:30 AM, the Dow fell by 196.40 points (0.41%) to 47,435.60, the S&P 500 lost 35.33 points (0.51%) to 6,855.79, and the Nasdaq dropped 173.98 points (0.73%) to 23,784.50. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year U. S. Treasury rose slightly to 4.09% from 4.08% late Wednesday.

Fed’s rate cut and market sentiment

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, but Powell’s statement hinted at a more conservative stance going forward. He noted that another rate cut in December 2025 is “not assured,” which shows the Fed's intention to remain data-driven amid inflation concerns.

US-China trade truce

Markets reacted positively to the progress between U. S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who had their first talks in Busan, South Korea, in six years. The two leaders decided to relax the trade dispute, with the U. S. cutting some tariffs and China promising to continue supplying the U. S. with essential rare earth materials.

Stock price movements

Alphabet (GOOGL) gained 5.3% after announcing that its quarterly profit and revenue surpassed the Wall Street estimates.

Meta Platforms (META) lost 11.3% on account of a one-time tax charge of $16 billion, which considerably reduced the company’s profit for the third quarter.

Microsoft (MSFT) lost 2.5% even though it reported better-than-expected quarterly results.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) dropped 18% after lowering its sales growth forecast.

Eli Lilly (LLY) increased by 1.7% due to the company's unexpected rise in earnings.

Visa (V) went up by 1.5% as a result of a solid quarterly performance.

Commodities update

Gold:

Despite the Fed’s rate cut, the gold prices kept on rising. Gold spot rose by 1% to $3,970.36 per ounce (1343 GMT), while U. S. gold futures for December delivery remained unchanged at $3,992.40.

Silver price increased 1.7% reaching $48.34

Platinum price rose 0.9% to $1,598.55

Palladium price climbed 1% to $1,415.52

Oil:

Crude price went down as investors were weighing the possible consequences of the U. S.-China trade talks resuming.

The price of Brent fell by 1.1% to $64.19 per barrel

The price of U. S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also dropped by 1.1% to $59.80 per barrel

Outlook

Investors will be careful during the last trading sessions of October. They will be alternating between the positive side stemming from the U. S.-China relations improvement and the uncertainty around the Fed’s next moves as well as the continuous volatility in Big Tech earnings.