Alphabet earnings miss expectations, Fed holds rates steady, US stock index futures fall.

US stock index futures fell in early Asian trading after Alphabet Inc.'s disappointing earnings reignited concerns about corporate spending of billions of dollars on artificial intelligence. Alphabet shares plunged 10% in after-hours trading on weak sales, dragging Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.8% and S&P 500 futures 0.3% lower. Asian stock index futures pointed to a cautious open ahead of chip industry bellwether Samsung Electronics Co.'s key earnings report. "Alphabet's 10% drop after its quarterly results is weighing on US equity futures," said Jamie Hannah, deputy head of investments and capital markets at Van Eck Associates Corp. in Sydney. "While the results confirmed that the AI boom is generating revenue, they also highlighted how the technology is disrupting traditional profit models. Alphabet has now become a bellwether for this trend." Sentiment in other markets remained firm, however. Microsoft Corp. rose 2.8% in after-hours trading on solid cloud sales, while Oracle Corp. had earlier surged 11% after issuing a long-term outlook for free cash flow.