Alphabet's Earnings Fumble Triggers Pre-Market Selloff

Stock futures are lower across the board, as a grim earnings report out of Alphabet (GOOGL) triggers a broader tech selloff and a 344-point drop in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX). Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) are down triple digits as well, as Caterpillar (CAT) also sports a steep post-earnings slide. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) is facing pre-market losses of its own, brushing off an upbeat earnings reaction out of Microsoft (MSFT).

Investors yesterday saw the Federal Reserve keep interest rates steady, as expected, with Chair Kevin Warsh citing "price stability" as the current priority. In other news, third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data came in at 3.4% annually, higher-than-expected, while the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index came in at 0.5% for the month and 3.6% year on year.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• How a volatility crush can impact earnings trades.
• 3 stocks options traders zeroed in on yesterday.
• Plus, more on Alphabets Q3 fumble; drugmaker gapping higher; and Burger King parent beats expectations.

5 Things You Need to Know Today

1. The Cboe Option Exchange saw roughly 2.1 million call contracts and 1.1 million put contracts traded on Wednesday. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.54, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.58. 
2. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is gapping 11% lower before the bell, after the Magnificent 7 name reported a third-quarter miss, including negative free cash flow that was triple the expected loss. Its focus in AI spending also triggered a huge hit in search revenue. Should these losses hold, GOOGL will erase its slim year-to-date gain.
3. Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) is up 4% in premarket trading, after the drugmaker reported an impressive third-quarter earnings beat and hiked its full-year sales guidance. The company said its obesity drug demand continued to surge. LLY has been an outperformer on the charts this year, up 20% in 2026.
4. Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE:QSR) is trading flat ahead of the open, after the Burger King parent posted a third-quarter beat, though revenue suffered a slight miss. QSR has been consolidating between the $74 and $76 levels, but still sports a year-over-year gain of 11.6%.
5. More economic data slated to close out the last days of October.

European Stocks Move Higher After Earnings

Asian markets mostly fell in Thursday’s session as traders digested today’s earnings. South Korea reported its fastest export growth in more than 50 years for October. The South Korean Kospi shed 1.3%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6% and China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.8%. Japan’s Nikkei was the sole winner today, adding 1.1% as Japanese government bonds (JGBs) held steady ahead of the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) monetary policy decision tomorrow.  

European bourses are higher as investors cheer gains out of the energy sector after Shell (SHEL) reported its highest quarterly profit since 2022. At last glance, London’s FTSE 100 was 0.3% higher, while France’s CAC and Germany’s DAX were both up 0.7%.