Alphabet's fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat Wall Street expectations, with its cloud unit dazzling and revenue increasing by nearly 48% year-over-year. However, the tech giant's plans for capital expenditure in 2026, between $175 billion and $185 billion, have investors spooked, causing Alphabet shares to fall as much as 3% in extended trading. This comes as artificial intelligence stocks face a challenging week, with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares tanking 17.3% due to a disappointing first-quarter forecast. Other AI-related companies, such as Broadcom and Oracle, also experienced declines. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost 1.51%, and the S&P 500 retreated 0.51%, marking its fifth negative session in six. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.53% due to the performance of Amgen and Honeywell. Despite the AI sentiment dip, Jim Cramer, the creator of the CNBC Investing Club, remains optimistic about South Korean chipmakers, praising Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix as visionary companies. Oil prices slipped around 1% following reports of U.S.-Iran talks in Oman, while Venezuela assured China that its oil pricing would not be set by the U.S., and Russia insisted that India hasn't stopped oil purchases from Moscow, despite Trump's suggestions. Panama faces a heavy price if it doesn't change course, as the Supreme Court ruled to void Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison's license to operate ports at either end of the canal, widely seen as a victory for Trump. Sen. Tim Scott believes Powell didn't commit any crime during his Senate testimony, while Sen. Thom Tillis doubled down on blocking Kevin Warsh's Fed chair nomination until the investigation into Powell ends. The U.S. plans to establish critical mineral price floors with Mexico, the European Union, and Japan to reduce dependence on China. Major U.S. indexes sold off on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 suffering back-to-back losses due to tech stocks, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 was mostly unchanged. Shares of Denmark-listed Novo Nordisk plunged 17.2%. Analysts express concerns about AMD's profitability, and Chinese businesses are focusing on AI tools that can help them survive a tough economy, rather than which AI is the smartest.
