S&P 500 slips 0.5% on AI spending worries; Meta drops 9.4%

The source of this week's market weakness was a jump in worries about corporate capital expenditures tied to artificial intelligence, amplified as more companies reported quarterly results. Meta Platforms raised the bottom end of its 2026 capital expenditure guidance even after beating estimates, and its shares slid 9.4%. AT&T raised its full-year earnings outlook but missed on postpaid phone subscriber growth, and its stock fell 11%. The S&P 500's declines came even though only four of its 11 sectors fell; energy and health care rose 1.55% and 1.45% respectively, with SLB up 7.2% on better-than-expected results and Intuitive Surgical up 6% despite a $450 million settlement charge. Next week brings a heavy slate of earnings from Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon.com, and others, plus the advance estimate of Q3 GDP and a Federal Reserve meeting concluding Wednesday, which may offer clearer direction for a market still down 0.4% in October but up 11% for the year.