The major U.S. stock indices closed mostly lower Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite and Nasdaq 100 both falling 1.38%. Alphabet was the standout loser among the megacap technology names, tumbling 12.64%, while Amazon declined 4.25% ahead of its earnings release.However, the selling was far from universal. The Russell 2000 gained 1.01%, the NYSE Composite edged higher, and advancing stocks comfortably outnumbered decliners within the S&P 500. The headline indices told a weaker story than the average stock.After the close, attention shifted to another round of earnings. The initial reactions supplied showed Intel down 20.17% and Amazon down 6.30%, keeping technology shares in focus heading into the next session.U.S. closing levelsDow Industrial Average: Down 132.48 points, or 0.25%, at 52,342.62.S&P 500: Down 23.44 points, or 0.30%, at 7,720.54.Nasdaq Composite: Down 365.13 points, or 1.38%, at 26,184.72.Russell 2000: Up 28.71 points, or 1.01%, at 2,859.22.Nasdaq 100: Down 410.65 points, or 1.38%, at 29,402.51.Breadth tells a stronger storyDespite the declines in the major headline indices, the supplied breadth figures showed:Dow: 24 advancing stocks versus 6 declining.S&P 500: 402 advancing versus 84 declining.Nasdaq 100: 58 advancing versus 43 declining.Nasdaq market: 1,643 advancing versus 1,602 declining.NYSE Composite: 1,276 advancing versus 505 declining.The S&P 500’s negative close alongside strong positive breadth is particularly revealing. It points to concentrated pressure in heavily weighted stocks, while many other constituents moved higher. Small caps also attracted buying, with the Russell 2000 outperforming the Nasdaq Composite by approximately 2.39 percentage points.Magnificent Seven: Alphabet leads the declinesThree of the seven stocks finished higher, but Alphabet’s sharp decline stood out:Meta: Up 1.96% at $624.52.Apple: Up 1.48% at $348.91.Microsoft: Down 0.16% at $530.14.Tesla: Down 0.23% at $403.30.Nvidia: Down 0.83% at $213.60.Amazon: Down 4.25% at $243.79.Alphabet: Down 12.64% at $283.82.After-hours earnings dump and so does the price of Intel and Amazon.A slew of earnings were released after the close with Intel and Amazon the highlights. Both of those stocks are not fairing well after missing on Revenues. Amazon missed on revenues and EPS. Intel: Adjusted EPS $0.52 vs $0.41 expected (BEAT); revenue $16.50 billion vs $16.60 billion expected (MISS). Shares trading down 17.44%.Amazon: EPS $1.89 vs $1.97 expected (MISS); revenue $201.90 billion vs $202.20 billion expected (MISS). Shares trading down 6.40%.Gilead Sciences: Adjusted EPS $2.55 vs $2.19 expected (BEAT); revenue $8.30 billion vs $7.80 billion expected (BEAT). Shares trading up 2.65%.Sandisk: Adjusted EPS $49.51 vs $46.20 expected (BEAT); revenue $11.031 billion vs $10.639 billion expected (BEAT). Shares trading up 2.15%.Starbucks: Adjusted EPS $0.80 vs $0.72 expected (BEAT); revenue $9.10 billion vs $9.22 billion expected (MISS). Shares trading down 0.33%.Pinterest: Reported EPS $0.04 vs $0.49 expected (MISS on the supplied figures); revenue $1.17 billion vs $1.21 billion expected (MISS). Shares trading down -8.89%. The trading lesson: look beneath the indexA falling index does not mean most stocks declined. In a market-capitalization-weighted index, a sharp move in a large constituent can outweigh gains across many smaller companies. Today’s S&P 500 decline alongside strong positive breadth illustrates that distinction.Earnings also need to be judged alongside the price reaction. Sandisk beat both supplied estimates but traded lower, while Intel’s EPS beat did little to support its shares. The headline result is one input. For traders, the next step is to see whether the initial reaction holds as trading develops. This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.