Microsoft and Meta's profits are rising rapidly, but their stocks are falling because both companies aren't building data centers fast enough

The S&P 500 lost 1.6% in midday trading and was on track for its worst day in nearly eight weeks, falling further from its record set earlier this month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 418 points, or 1%, as of 11:15 a.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.4%, heading for a second straight loss after hitting its recent all-time high.

Microsoft reported greater profit growth for its latest quarter than analysts expected. Sales also beat forecasts, but the stock fell 6% as investors and analysts watched for possible disappointments. Many focused on Microsoft's assessment of the upcoming growth of its Azure cloud computing business, which fell short of some analysts' expectations.

Facebook's parent company also delivered a better-than-expected earnings report. As with Microsoft, however, that wasn't enough to keep the stock rising. Investors focused on Meta Platforms' warning that it expects a “significant acceleration” in spending next year as it continues to pour money into artificial intelligence development. It fell 3.6%.

Both Microsoft and Meta Platforms have soared in recent years amid the AI ​​hype and are among Wall Street's most influential stocks. But such outstanding performances lead critics to argue that stock prices have simply risen too quickly, making them too expensive. It's difficult to meet all expectations when they're so high, and Microsoft and Meta were both among the heaviest weights in the S&P 500 on Thursday.

The next two companies in the influential Magnificent Seven group of stocks to report their latest results will be Apple and Amazon. They are expected to report after the day's close, and both fell at least 1.3% on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Tesla and Alphabet launched the Magnificent Seven reports with results that investors found impressive enough to reward them with higher stock prices. The only remaining member, Nvidia, will report its results later this earnings season, and its 4.3% decline was the biggest weight in the market on Thursday after Microsoft.

Big Tech's crash on the last day of October is helping to erase the S&P 500's monthly gain. The index is down 0.7%, on track for its first negative month in the past six months, although it hit an all-time high midway through this month.

Still, Wall Street didn't experience a total bust, thanks in part to cruise ships and cigarettes.

Norwegian Cruise Line Holding rose 8.2% after posting a higher profit than analysts expected in its latest quarter. The cruise operator said it experienced strong customer demand across all brands and itineraries and raised its full-year 2024 profit forecast.

Altria Group rose 7.6%, adding another major gain to the S&P 500, after it also beat analysts' earnings expectations. Chief Executive Officer Billy Gifford praised, among other things, the resilience of his Marlboro brand and announced a cost-cutting program.

Oil and gas companies also generally rose after the price of a barrel of U.S. crude rose 1.3%, recouping some of its losses for the week and year to date. ConocoPhillips rose 4.9% and Exxon Mobil rose 1%.

In the bond market, Treasury yields continued their rise following mixed reports on the US economy.

A measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use slowed to 2.1% in September from 2.3%, a report said. That's nearly in line with the Fed's 2 percent target, although the underlying trends were slightly hotter than economists had expected after accounting for food and energy costs.

A separate report said growth in workers' wages and benefits slowed over the summer. That could ease the pressure on upcoming inflation. A third report said fewer U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week. This is an indication that layoffs remain relatively low across the country.

Treasury yields fluctuated up and down several times after the reports before rising again. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.31% from 4.30% late Wednesday. That's a significant increase from the level of around 3.60% seen in the middle of last month.

Yields rebounded after a series of stronger-than-expected reports on the U.S. economy. Such data bolsters hopes that the economy can avoid a recession, especially now that the Fed is cutting interest rates to support the labor market rather than keeping them high to curb high inflation. But the surprising resilience is also forcing traders to ultimately lower their expectations for the size of the Fed's interest rate cuts.

On the stock markets abroad, the indices fell in large parts of Europe and Asia.

South Korea's Kospi fell 1.5%, notching one of the biggest losses, after North Korea launched a test of a new intercontinental ballistic missile aimed at hitting the U.S. mainland, likely to attract America's attention ahead of Election Day.