04:42 PM EDT, 10/30/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes declined on Thursday as investors, reeling under some big-tech earnings, braced for quarterly results from Apple ( AAPL ) and Amazon ( AMZN ) in the absence of the Federal Reserve's safety blanket.

The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.6% to 23,581.14, with the S&P 500 down 1% to 6,822.34 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.2% lower at 47,522.12. Consumer discretionary, communication services, and technology were the steepest decliners intraday. Real estate and financials led the gainers.

Apple ( AAPL ) and Amazon ( AMZN ) , with a combined market capitalization of roughly $6.4 trillion, are due to report quarterly earnings after the bell on Thursday. Shares of Meta Platforms ( META ) , a firm with a market capitalization of $1.68 trillion, were down 11% following its results late Wednesday.

An Oppenheimer note said that Meta is ramping spending on artificial intelligence initiatives despite uncertain sales prospects, sparking investor concerns as expenses and capital costs rose "significantly faster" than expected. The brokerage downgraded Meta's stock to perform from outperform.

Microsoft ( MSFT ) shares slid 2.9%, weighing on the Dow, following the release of its quarterly results late Wednesday. Raymond James adjusted its price target on the company's shares to $600 from $630, while maintaining its outperform rating.

On Wednesday, the Fed cut interest rates by 25 basis points, but Fed Chair Jerome Powell said another reduction in December cannot be taken for granted. "In the committee's discussions at this meeting, there were strongly differing views about how to proceed in December," he said. "A further reduction in the policy rate at the December meeting is not a forgone conclusion -- far from it."

Most Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year yield up 3.1 basis points to 4.09% and the two-year rate advancing two basis points to 3.61%.

"Powell sounded 'hawkish' in his presser yesterday as he pushed back against the prospect of a December rate cut by the Fed," Thierry Wizman, global foreign-exchange and rates strategist at Macquarie Group, said in a note. "By implication, that's push-back against aggressive and sustained policy rate cuts into 2026, too, although Powell won't be steering policy through that period."

The probability of the Fed leaving rates unchanged in December after this week's cut surged three times to 27% by Thursday afternoon, compared with just 9% a week ago.

In other earnings news, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) reported Q3 earnings and sales increased from a year earlier, beating forecasts. Its shares climbed 2.5%, among the leaders on the Nasdaq.

On the trade front, President Donald Trump reportedly said he has agreed to lower tariffs on China to 47% from 57% after concluding trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. Trump said the US reached a one-year trade agreement with China that will be routinely extended, multiple news outlets reported.

China agreed to resume purchases of US soybeans, keep rare earths exports flowing, and crack down on the illicit trade of fentanyl, Reuters reported.