New York, March 3, 2026, 4:44 PM EST — After-hours
- Alphabet Class C slipped to around $303.56 in after-hours moves, off roughly 0.9% from where it settled Monday.
- Wall Street lost ground, with investors sizing up the risks from the Middle East and the inflationary punch that comes with pricier energy.
- Traders are watching a report about Apple holding talks to run an enhanced Siri using Google Cloud.
Alphabet’s class C shares (GOOG.O) slipped to roughly $303.56 in after-hours trading Tuesday, off about 0.9% from where they finished Monday.
After U.S. stocks closed lower, investors weighed the possibility that an expanding Middle East conflict could push oil prices higher and cloud the inflation picture. “Investors are growing anxious about the duration of the war and its impact on energy prices,” said Joseph Tanious, chief investment strategist at Northern Trust Asset Management. Reuters
Apple’s in talks with Google about tapping Google’s AI and cloud backbone for the upcoming Siri overhaul, The Information reported. Apple’s own “Private Cloud Compute” setup? Running at just about 10% capacity on average, the report said, so Apple’s weighing outside options as it pushes to boost Siri’s capabilities. Data Center Dynamics
Alphabet dropped 0.93% to finish at $303.52, moving within a range from $296.77 to $303.92. Roughly 19.7 million shares changed hands.
Alphabet shares slipped again, dropping 1.63% to $306.36 on Monday. That underperformance left the stock trailing several other megacap names during a session that saw mixed results.
Alphabet investors are watching closely for signs that cloud demand could tick higher, with markets still zeroed in on what it costs to support AI. Just last month, the company told investors to expect capital spending of $175 billion to $185 billion in 2026, pouring money into servers and data centers to fuel AI growth. That plan has been read as a wager on expansion, but it’s also raised eyebrows about margins.
Nerves are running through the broader market as traders brace for important U.S. economic numbers coming this week. Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group, described the ongoing “back and forth about who might be the victim” in the latest investor debates over AI’s potential winners and losers, with the focus now turning to Friday’s jobs report. Reuters
Alphabet is set to pay out its $0.21 quarterly cash dividend on March 16, with March 9 marking the record date for eligible shareholders. After that cutoff, anyone buying in misses the dividend.
But risks remain. A continued rise in oil prices could stoke more inflation worries, dragging down valuations for megacap tech. As for Apple-Siri, talks might stall before a deal comes together—or progress could be slow, even if one does materialize.
Traders are now looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. jobs data for February, set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. The report has the potential to shift rate-cut bets and influence how tech trades heading into next week.
