Wall Street Slides as Oil Surges and Big Tech Earnings Disappoint

US equities dropped on Thursday as a surge in oil prices collided with underwhelming earnings from two of the world's largest companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 506.93 points, or 0.97%, to close at 51,711.65, while the S&P 500 fell 1.21% to 7,408.30 and the Nasdaq Composite declined 2.15% to end at 25,137.69. The technology-heavy index was weighed down by a roughly 7% drop in Alphabet and a 14% slide in Tesla following their quarterly reports, with Alphabet's raised capital expenditure guidance renewing investor concern about the scale of artificial intelligence spending. Crude prices climbed to one-month highs after Yemen's Houthi movement claimed attacks on two Saudi Arabian tankers in the Red Sea, reviving fears about supply disruption through key shipping lanes. Treasury yields approached their 2026 peaks and market-implied odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike edged higher as investors weighed the inflationary consequences of costlier energy. Strategists cautioned that persistent conflict could pressure consumers, complicate central bank policy and increase volatility heading into a seasonally weaker period for markets.