Stock market today: S&P 500 falls as tech takes big hit from Meta, Microsoft slump

Investing.com -- The S&P 500 closed lower Thursday, pressured by dip in tech following mixed earnings from tech just as investors weigh up a deescalation in U.S.-China trade tensions following a meeting over trade between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

At 4:00 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 110 points, or 0.2%, the S&P 500 index dropped 1%, and the NASDAQ Composite slipped 1.6%.

Trump flags positive meeting with Xi; Nvidia Blackwell not discussed

Trump said he had an "amazing, outstanding" meeting with China’s Xi on Thursday, but offered little clear insight into how Washington and Beijing will temper their trade ties.

The president said he saw a trade deal with China as "pretty soon," and that there were few stumbling blocks between the two. He did not specify when the deal would be signed, but said that he will visit China in April. 

Trump said there was "no roadblock at all" over rare earths, and that Washington will sign yearly deals with China to maintain supplies of the critical minerals. 

He added that China had agreed to resume its purchases of U.S. agriculture goods, especially soybeans, but did not provide specific figures. 

The U.S. President said he will cut his fentanyl tariffs on China to 10%, effective immediately, stating that the country will "work very hard" to stop the flow of the illegal substance into the United States. 

Other U.S. tariffs against China will remain unchanged, standing around 47%, Trump told reporters.

Fed flags uncertainty about next move

The Fed trimmed its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%, marking its second consecutive reduction, but signaled uncertainty about further easing.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell pushed back against expectations that another rate cut in December was assured, saying it was “far from” a foregone conclusion.

He cautioned that the central bank was “navigating in the fog,” citing mixed economic signals and uneven progress on inflation. The comments tempered optimism in markets that had priced in a follow-up reduction before year-end.

"Inflation remains a concern, with the sense that tariffs could yet materially come through, but the jobs outlook looks more challenged," ING analysts said in a note.

The analysts said that they still expect another rate cut in December, adding, "It will take at least two more rate cuts next year and further dollar weakness to achieve the required platform for growth."

Meta, Microsoft lead tech lower; Alphabet jumps

Investors are also working through quarterly results from several megacap technology firms that reported after the bell.

Shares of Instagram-owner Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) sank after the social media giant said it would "aggressively" push to increase its spending to support its pursuit of AI that can surpass human intelligence, fueling investor worries over the eventual returns on these multi-billion dollar investments.

Google-parent Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) third-quarter revenue reached a record high as well, while net profit soared 33% versus a year ago to roughly $35 billion, as strength in its cloud computing and digital advertising operations underpinned its own proposals for sky-high AI expenditures. 

Cloud and AI services bolstered Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) too, with the software giant even saying that it is racing to keep up with runaway demand, notably by doubling its data center footprint over the next two years.

Elsewhere, Restaurant Brands (NYSE:QSR) stock rose after the parent of restaurant chains Burger King and Tim Hortons reported stronger-than-expected third quarter results, boosted by solid international sales growth.

Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) stock gained after the drugmaker lifted its full-year revenue guidance, thanks in part to strong demand for its Zepbound weight loss treatment.

Estee Lauder (NYSE:EL) stock soared after the beauty company beat estimates for first-quarter sales and profit, helped by an uptick in China demand.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) stock fell after the biotech company cut its full-year earnings guidance despite reporting better-than-expected third quarter results, with adjusted earnings and revenue surpassing analyst estimates.

Peter Nurse, Ambar Warrick, Frank DeMatteo and Ayushman Ojha contributed to this report