US stocks fall as Alphabet's record drop drags S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower

Wall Street's major indexes fell Thursday as Alphabet suffered its worst trading day ever, dragging the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq lower despite gains across most other stocks. Alphabet's Class A shares plunged 12.6 percent after reporting weaker summer growth than expected, raising concerns about returns on massive AI investments. The S&P 500 dropped 0.3 percent to 7,720.39, while the Nasdaq fell 1.4 percent to 26,184.72, though the Russell 2000 rose 1 percent. Several companies rallied on strong earnings, including Ford up 12.4 percent and Norwegian Cruise Line up 13.4 percent, while software stocks like Fortinet and ServiceNow fell over 20 percent, and Caterpillar tumbled 9.3 percent.