Book a meeting

Investment Updates · Daily Market Pulse

Big Tech earnings split the AI trade

Thursday, 29 October 2026 Mixed

Big Tech earnings split the AI trade: Alphabet about -10% after hours, Microsoft about +3-4%, while the S&P 500 barely moved (+0.3%) and the Fed held rates.

Markets

Where markets closed

S&P 5007,744+3.4% 3 mo
7,6007,800 31 Jul28 Oct
Nasdaq26,550+4.6% 3 mo
26,00027,000 31 Jul28 Oct
Straits Times Index5,413.9−3.5% 3 mo
5,4005,6005,800 3 Aug29 Oct
Gold4,051.1−1.0% 3 mo
4,2504,500 3 Aug29 Oct
WTI crude oil101.3+26.1% 3 mo
80.00100 3 Aug29 Oct
US 10-year yield5.04%+30 bp 3 mo
4.75%5.00%5.25% 31 Jul28 Oct
MarketLevelDay1 monthYear to date
S&P 5007,744+0.3%+0.9%+13.1%
Nasdaq Composite26,550+0.3%−0.9%+14.2%
Straits Times Index5,413.9+0.3%−4.6%+16.5%
Hang Seng Index23,150+0.2%−6.1%−9.7%
US 10-year Treasury yield5.04%+5 bp−21 bp+88 bp
US dollar index102.2−0.0%+0.7%+3.9%
Gold4,051.1−0.0%−3.2%−6.7%
WTI crude oil101.3−1.4%+12.1%+76.5%

Closing levels before 7am Singapore time on Thursday, 29 October 2026. Source: Yahoo Finance.

Lessons from the market

What today teaches

Same AI story, opposite results: why diversification beats picking one winner

On 28 Oct 2026 two of the world's biggest AI companies reported on the same evening. Alphabet (Google) missed forecasts for the first time in nearly four years and its free cash flow turned negative as AI spending and borrowing surged; the stock fell about 10% after hours. Microsoft beat forecasts, its Azure cloud grew 48%, and it still produces positive cash flow; its stock rose about 3-4%. Both are 'AI plays'. The AI trend was right; picking only one name would have decided whether you had a great night or a painful one.

The principle

Being right about a big trend is not the same as being right about one stock. Spreading across several companies (or the whole index) lets you capture the trend while one company's bad quarter does limited damage.

The numbers
  • Alphabet (GOOGL): about -9.9% after hours, 28 Oct 2026; Q3 free cash flow -$9.07B vs -$2.70B expected
  • Alphabet long-term debt: $125.1B vs $21.6B a year earlier
  • Microsoft (MSFT): about +3.1% to +4% after hours, 28 Oct 2026; Azure growth 48%, revenue +19%
  • S&P 500 that day: +0.28% (the diversified index barely noticed)

Sources: cnbc.com · cnbc.com · youtube.com

Revenue up, stock down: markets pay for cash, not headlines

Alphabet grew revenue 25% and Meta grew revenue 26% this earnings season, yet both stocks fell sharply. Investors focused on the huge AI spending, negative free cash flow and rising debt, and on whether results beat what was already expected. A 'good news' headline can still mean a falling share price when expectations were higher.

The principle

Share prices move on results versus expectations and on cash flow, not on whether the headline sounds good. That is why reacting to news headlines is a poor trading strategy.

The numbers
  • Alphabet Q3 2026: revenue +25% but about -10% after hours (28 Oct 2026)
  • Meta Q3 2026: revenue +26% to about $64.6B, then -7% the next session (22 Oct 2026)
  • Meta: about -21% from its 52-week high as of 29 Oct 2026

Sources: cnbc.com · mitrade.com