Wall Street slips as Alphabet's 12.6% plunge hits Nasdaq

Wall Street closed lower on Thursday, October 29, 2026, with the Nasdaq falling 1.38% as a 12.6% plunge in Alphabet shares, its worst daily drop ever, reignited investor concerns over costly artificial intelligence investments. The Dow Jones fell 0.25% to 52,342.56 points, and the S&P 500 lost 0.30% to 7,720.39 points. Alphabet's disappointing results and increased AI spending drove the selloff, while positive economic data failed to offset tech sector pressures. The US economy grew at an annual 3.4% rate in the third quarter, beating estimates, and the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly rose 6.6% and Ford gained 12.4% on strong earnings, with the small-cap Russell 2000 index up 1%.