02:33 PM EDT, 07/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were lower intraday, with the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 weighed down by post-earnings sell-off in Tesla (TSLA) and Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) shares.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq was down 2.7% at 17,506.7 after midday Wednesday, while the S&P 500 slid 1.6% to 5,465.1. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% to 40,063.7. Among sectors, tech declined 3.2%, the biggest drop, while utilities led the gainers.

Tesla's shares were down 10%, the steepest decline on the Nasdaq and the second-worst on the S&P 500. The electric vehicle maker late Tuesday posted second-quarter earnings that fell short of market expectations, impacted by lower vehicle prices and restructuring charges.

Alphabet's class A and C shares were down more than 4.5% each intraday, among the biggest drops on the Nasdaq. The Google ( GOOG ) parent late Tuesday logged stronger-than-expected second-quarter results, though its management flagged caution about decelerating advertisement trends and more difficult comparisons in the second half of the year, D.A. Davidson said in a Wednesday note to clients.

The latest results from Tesla and Alphabet "heightened investor concerns about the dominance of Big Tech stocks that have boosted Wall Street to record highs," the brokerage wrote.

Lamb Weston ( LW ) was the worst performer on the S&P 500, down nearly 28%. The frozen fries maker on Wednesday guided for an annual decline in fiscal 2025 earnings after posting an unexpected decrease in revenue and below-forecast earnings for its fourth quarter amid challenging market dynamics.

CoStar Group ( CSGP ) shares jumped 6.2%, the top gainer on the Nasdaq and the second-best on the S&P 500. The company late Tuesday raised its full-year earnings outlook after delivering a second-quarter beat.

AT&T's ( T ) second-quarter earnings fell year over year while the telecommunication giant added more postpaid phone subscribers than expected and maintained its full-year earnings outlook. The company's shares were up 4.9%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500.

International Business Machines ( IBM ) , ServiceNow ( NOW ) , Chipotle Mexican Grill ( CMG ) and Ford Motor ( F ) are among the companies scheduled to post results after Wednesday's closing bell.

The US 10-year yield rose 1.9 basis points to 4.26% intraday, while the two-year rate was little changed at 4.41%.

In economic news, new-home sales in the US fell unexpectedly last month while median prices at the national level returned to sequential growth, US government data showed.

US private-sector output growth in July increased to its highest level since April 2022 led by the service sector, while the one-year outlook fell to a three-month low, according to S&P Global's ( SPGI ) flash purchasing managers' index.

Mortgage applications in the US pulled back last week despite decreasing interest rates across most loan types, as affordability challenges amid high home prices continued to weigh on prospective home buyers, the Mortgage Bankers Association said.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose 1% to $77.72 a barrel intraday.

Gold was up 0.3% at $2,413.50 per troy ounce, while silver fell 0.3% to $29.26 per barrel.