US stocks fall as Meta, Microsoft drag; Fed rate concerns linger

STORY: Wall Street closed lower on Thursday, with the Dow dropping nearly a quarter of a percent, the S&P 500 losing about 1% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbling more than 1.5%.Facebook parent Meta Platforms weighed heavily on the S&P and Nasdaq, with shares plunging more than 11%.The social media company a day earlier forecast "notably larger" capital expenses next year due to investments in AI, with reports surfacing that it would raise cash through a bond sale.Dean Smith is chief strategist and portfolio manager at FolioBeyond. "You've got some really strong earnings from some of the tech companies, but you've also had some disappointments. One in particular is that Meta is facing some pushback from investors over its planned $30 billion bond offering. That is a very large number. [FLASH] They're trying to raise money to build out their data centers and technology infrastructure. Some other companies in the Magnificent Seven, so-called, it's kind of a mixed bag, but I think we're seeing the first glimmers of people starting to question whether this capital expenditure is going to pay off in the end. It's definitely a question that's been weighing on investors minds for quite some time.”Microsoft shares ended down nearly 3% after the tech giant also warned that spending would rise this year.Meanwhile, shares of Apple climbed more than 4% in extended trading, after CEO Tim Cook gave a forecast for holiday quarter iPhone sales and overall revenue that beat Wall Street expectations.Shares of Netflix, which have gained more than 360% over the past three years, were up 3% in extended trading, after the streaming giant announced a ten-for-one forward stock split, making the company's shares more affordable for retail investors.And shares of AI chip leader Nvidia fell 2% after it had given the market an extra boost the day before, when it became the first publicly listed company to surpass $5 trillion in market capitalization.