Tech earnings from Alphabet, Microsoft weigh on stock futures; Nasdaq -2%

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Tech worries resurfaced after the bell on Tuesday after quarterly results from Alphabet and Microsoft dented the recent rally on Wall Street. Futures linked to the Nasdaq (COMP.IND) tumbled as much as 2.4% in overnight trading, while contracts tied to the S&P 500 (SP500) declined over 1%, challenging some that had already wagered that this year's massive stock selloff had hit a bottom. Further volatility is inevitable as sentiment remains extremely fragile, while the wild market moves are making trading conditions all the more difficult.

Commentary: "The global economy is at a tipping point," noted Jessica Amir, market strategist at Saxo Capital. "The stronger dollar will continue to hurt businesses' forward earnings, at a time when consumer demand is likely to fall with the reverse wealth effect expected to grip markets. Pressure remains on riskier asset classes such as tech."

Alphabet: Shares of the Google parent slumped 6.6% AH following results that missed expectations on both the top and bottom lines. Slowing sales growth continued as YouTube was whacked by the sharp global downturn in online advertising, with the division's ad revenue falling for the first time since the company began reporting its financial performance in 2020. "Times like this are clarifying," CEO Sundar Pichai declared, adding that Google is pushing to become more efficient "by realigning resources to invest in our biggest growth opportunities" and that "Q4 [employee] headcount additions will be significantly lower than Q3."

Microsoft: The company behind Windows saw its stock tumble 6.7% AH following a mixed bag of results that was stained by tech rival Google. Revenue from Intelligent cloud computing, including Microsoft's Azure and other cloud services, was the biggest piece of the company's revenue puzzle, and totaled $20.3B, up 20% from last year's quarter. However, a decline in PC sales and the dollar's strength continued to weigh on profits and growth, while the C-suite said that some rough weather could be coming in the months ahead.