NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is pulling back from its record heights as Wall Street sifts through mixed developments on everything from the U.S.-China trade war to profits for Big Tech behemoths. The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% Thursday and edged a bit further from its all-time high set on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 199 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.7%. President Donald Trump hailed his much-anticipated talk with China’s leader, Xi Jinping, but major tensions remain between the world’s two largest economies. On Wall Street, Microsoft and Meta Platforms sank, while Alphabet climbed following their profit reports.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
Wall Street was trending lower in early Thursday trading after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was dialing back some of the tariffs imposed on China following a meeting met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Trading was mixed for some of the biggest American technology companies that reported their latest quarterly earnings.
Futures for the S&P 500 ticked down 0.2%, while Dow futures slid 0.4%. Futures for the Nasdaq, where most big technology companies trade, also fell 0.2%.
Google’s parent company Alphabet jumped 8.6% after it announced its first-ever quarter with more than $100 billion in revenue and a profit of nearly $35 billion. Both figures easily exceeded the analysts’ projections that steer the stock market.
The strong results come on the heels of a court ruling in the U.S. Justice Department’s landmark monopoly case against Google’s dominant search engine that was widely seen as a mild rebuke that wouldn’t hobble the company.
On the losing side was Meta, the parent company of Facebook. Its shares tumbled more than 9% overnight after it posted strong results but warned that its expenses will be significantly higher in 2026.
Like its rivals, Meta Platforms Inc. has been on an artificial intelligence spending spree that includes infrastructure costs and the hiring of AI experts at eye-popping compensation levels.
Microsoft fell 2% after it reported strong results but surprised investors with the massive amount of money it is spending to expand its cloud computing infrastructure and meet demand for artificial intelligence tools.
Amazon and Apple report their latest quarterly results after markets close Thursday.
U.S. biotech company Metsera soared more than 20% in premarket on media reports that Novo Nordisk made a rival bid for the obesity drugmaker in attempt to undercut Pfizer and its offer.
While Trump said his meeting with Xi was “amazing” and had resolved many issues, investors appeared indifferent as there continues to be the potential for major tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Both nations are seeking dominance in manufacturing, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and shaping world affairs.
Trump told reporters he was cutting average tariffs on Chinese goods to 47% from 57%, effective immediately after his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in six years. He cited progress by Beijing in curbing exports of fentanyl and the chemicals used to make it.
Trump also said China was keeping its policy of tighter restrictions on exports of rare earths and related technologies on hold for a year, and he expects that agreement to be extended. Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs since returning to the White House for a second term combined with China’s retaliatory limits on exports of rare earth elements have given the meeting newfound urgency.
The first official Chinese comment on the meeting suggested any deal is not done.
The encounter was a chance for the leaders of the world’s two largest economies to stabilize relations after months of turmoil over trade issues.
At midday in Europe, Germany’s DAX lost 0.2% and Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.6%. In Paris, the CAC 40 slid 0.9%.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index bounced lower and then inched up less than 0.1% to 51,325.61 after the Bank of Japan kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged.
Chinese markets gave up early gains, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shedding 0.2% to 26,282.69. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.7% to 3,986.90.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority on Thursday cut its base rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%. It always follows the U.S. lead in interest rate policies since the value of Hong Kong’s currency is linked to the U.S. dollar.
South Korea’s Kospi index broke through the 4,000 mark for the first time, edging up 0.1% to 4,086.89 after climbing more than 1% earlier in the day following reports of progress in Washington’s trade talks with South Korea. Solid corporate earnings also boosted shares in tech, auto and shipbuilding.
On Wednesday, U.S. stocks bounced around their records after the Federal Reserve made moves to boost the job market but also warned that more help isn’t guaranteed.
Stocks had been on track for modest gains in the afternoon after the Fed cut its main interest rate for the second time this year in hopes of helping the slowing job market. But the market snapped lower after Chair Jerome Powell later warned that it “is not a foregone conclusion” that the Fed will cut again in December at its next meeting, “far from it.”
In energy trading early Thursday, benchmark U.S. crude shed 36 cents to $60.12 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 43 cents to $63.89 per barrel.