Dow Jones Cuts Losses After Plunging 700 Points; Stock Market Up After Hours As Microsoft, Alphabet Surge

The Dow Jones Industrial Average trimmed what was a 700-point loss by nearly half by the close Thursday as it sought to recover from an earnings-fueled drop courtesy of component Caterpillar, the worst performer among the Dow's 30 members. Other indexes also got hit as Facebook and Instagram operator Meta Platforms led techs lower, plunging as much as 16% on the stock market today. At least seven other members of the Dow industrials slipped 2 points or more.