Nasdaq futures slide as mixed Big Tech results test AI trade

By Shashwat Chauhan Oct 29 (Reuters) Nasdaq futures dropped on Thursday as mixed earnings from Alphabet and Microsoft left investors weighing the payoff from heavy AI spending, with focus also on an inflation reading a day after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged. Alphabet slid ​10.5% in premarket trading after the company reported disappointing results in the core business of ‌search advertising and a massive acceleration in cash burn as it poured resources into building out AI. Investors are starting to scrutinize monetization timelines versus the capital expenditure burn rates. Some investors are no longer giving all hyperscalers a free pass to spend without limit, said Jeremy Saltzberg, VP and senior investment officer at Check Capital Management. On the other hand, Microsoft climbed 3.5% after ‌the ​company delivered a big cash-flow beat and forecast strong cloud growth, ⁠offering fresh evidence that its hefty ⁠AI bets were working. Other early movers included