Wall Street indices decline as Alphabet and Caterpillar shares drop

Major US stock indices faced downward pressure on Thursday, interrupting a recent winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 132.54 points, or 0.25%, to close at 52,342.56. The S&P 500 declined by 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.38% to 26,184.72.

Alphabet shares fell 12% after third-quarter adjusted earnings per share and revenue missed market expectations. The Google parent company also reported negative free cash flow of $9.07 billion, though it maintained its full-year capital expenditure forecast between $195 billion and $205 billion.

Caterpillar, a Dow Jones constituent, saw its stock decline by more than 9%, marking its worst daily performance since March 2020. Despite reporting third-quarter revenue and profits that exceeded estimates, construction sector sales were slightly lower than analyst projections. Microsoft also experienced losses, ending the session with marginal declines despite Azure cloud services contributing to earnings that beat expectations.