US STOCKS-Wall Street ends lower as Alphabet revenue miss revives AI capex jitters

By Stephen Culp and Shashwat Chauhan

NEW YORK, Oct 29 (Reuters) - US stocks slid on Thursday, with investors reassessing big tech's massive AI spending spree as they digested high-profile earnings and crucial inflation data the day after the Federal Reserve held US interest rates steady.

All three major US equity indexes lost ground, with the tech-laden Nasdaq losing the most in the wake of Alphabet's GOOGL.O disappointing quarterly results released late Wednesday.

In contrast, the smallcap Russell 2000 .RUT notched a solid advance.

Semiconductor stocks .SOX snapped their four-day winning streak, as investors sought to distinguish between companies that can fund their lofty AI ambitions and those that burn through cash and borrow funds to realize their goals.

Alphabet GOOGL.O was in the latter camp following its quarterly report released late on Wednesday. The Google parent's revenue miss was compounded by its accelerated AI-related cash burn. Its shares slumped, dragging the communication services sector .SPLRCL down with it.

"A risk-off day like this, with small caps outperforming, is a good sign that thus far the market's interpretation of cracks in the AI story doesn't mean cracks in every corner of the market," said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird in Louisville, Kentucky. "There's plenty of other places to go with your money outside of the AI trade that have pretty decent prospects."

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On Wednesday, Federal Reserve policymakers chose to hold US rates steady, acknowledging that while price pressures remain "elevated," the central bank will decide on its next move as it "accumulates more information."

A raft of economic data released on Thursday answered that call, with a first take on third-quarter GDP that showed the US economy grew at a faster-than-expected pace in the third quarter, while price growth continued to gain heat with a war-related oil supply crunch feeding into broader, systemic inflation.

According to preliminary data, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 22.96 points, or 0.31%, to end at 7,721.02 points, while the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC lost 361.77 points, or 1.36%, to 26,188.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 129.30 points, or 0.25%, to 52,345.80.

Third-quarter earnings season has crossed the halfway point, with 253 of the companies in the S&P 500 having reported. Of those, 81% have beaten analyst expectations, according to the most recent LSEG data.

Analysts now expect aggregate third-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 31.0%, year-on-year, per LSEG.

Caterpillar CAT.N topped quarterly profit estimates but left its growth targets unchanged. The heavy equipment maker's shares tumbled.

Eli Lilly LLY.N jumped after the drugmaker lifted its revenue outlook on strong sales of weight-loss drugs.

Ford F.N gained following the automaker's third-quarter revenue beat.

Merck MRK.N beat earnings expectations on the strength of its cancer drug Keytruda and its HPV vaccine Gardasil. The drugmaker's shares advanced.

Software stocks were broadly weak. Fortinet FTNT.O and ServiceNow NOW.N both dropped more than 20% after their quarterly results.

Marvell Technology MRVL.O slumped after media reports said the company was in advanced talks to buy data-center optics maker Lumentum Holdings LITE.O. Lumentum shares rose.

Amazon AMZN.O is expected to release its quarterly results shortly.