4:15pm: Investors turn risk-off
Stocks closed lower Thursday as investors weighed fears of AI-driven disruption and looked ahead to Friday’s inflation reading. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the declines, down 2% to 22,597, while the S&P 500 slipped 1.6% to 6,833. The Dow Jones dropped 1.3% to 49,452, and the Russell 2000 fell 2% to 2,615.
Tech shares bore the brunt of selling as investors rotated out amid concerns that AI could shake up the sector. Friday’s Consumer Price Index report is now in the spotlight, with a softer reading expected to ease worries about inflation while leaving economic growth intact.
Gold futures sank 3%, and bitcoin dipped to around $65,000, reflecting a cautious, risk-off mood. Eyes will also be on earnings after the bell, with Coinbase, Applied Materials, and Rivian all reporting results that could sway markets heading into Friday.
3:45pm: Proactive news headlines
- NanoViricides (NYSE-A:NNVC) filed for Orphan Drug Designation with the FDA for its antiviral candidate NV-387 targeting MPox, potentially gaining trial tax credits and market exclusivity.
- VivoPower International PLC (NASDAQ:VVPR, FRA:51J) completed a $30 million strategic PIPE investment to expand its AI-focused data center infrastructure business.
- Aftermath Silver Ltd (TSX-V:AAG, OTCQX:AAGFF, FRA:FLM1) launched a pre-feasibility study for its Berenguela silver-copper-manganese project in Peru following successful drilling and a C$20 million financing.
- BioVie Inc (NASDAQ:BIVI, NASDAQ:BIVIW) had two abstracts on its drug bezisterim accepted for presentation at the 2026 American College of Psychiatrists meeting, focusing on Alzheimer’s disease and Long COVID.
2:45pm: Market movers
- Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) beat Q4 earnings expectations with $0.95 per share but saw revenue slightly miss estimates amid ongoing volume declines.
- Crocs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CROX)) Q4 adjusted EPS of $2.29 exceeded estimates, driving shares up nearly 20%.
- Fastly Inc (FSLY) reported Q4 EPS of $0.12, beating estimates and sending shares up almost 64% on strong results and guidance.
- HubSpot Inc (HUBS) Q4 EPS of $3.09 and 20% revenue growth exceeded expectations, while the company announced a $1 billion share buyback.
- AppLovin Corp (APP) posted Q4 revenue of $1.66 billion and raised its 2026 outlook, but shares fell 16% despite beating earnings estimates.
1:40pm: Existing home sales down
US existing home sales fell 8.4% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.91 million units, with harsh winter weather across much of the country likely weighing on activity.
Despite the monthly drop, the broader trend in resales appears to be gradually improving. Lower mortgage rates have helped support demand, analysts at Wells Fargo noted, with rates down about 80 basis points from a year ago to roughly 6.1%. Slower home price growth is also providing some relief for buyers. Median prices rose just 0.9% in January, marking a sharp moderation from the rapid gains seen in recent years.
However, limited supply continues to underpin prices. Unsold inventory edged down 0.8% in January to 1.22 million units and remains well below pre-pandemic levels.
Looking ahead, analysts at Wells Fargo believe resales are expected to post only modest gains in coming months, as affordability improves slightly but remains a significant constraint on a stronger housing market rebound.
12:20pm: Jobs report shows broad strength
Analysts noted that January's job gains were boosted by private education and health services, but broader indicators—including hours worked, average hourly earnings, and the employment diffusion index—point to stabilization in the labor market.
As a refresher, the unemployment rate fell to 4.28%, while the U-6 rate dropped to 8%, and labor force participation ticked up to 62.5%.
Deutsche Bank highlighted improvements among younger workers, often cited as vulnerable to AI-driven job shifts. “The unemployment rate for 20-24 year-olds fell by a full percentage point to 7.1%… the employment/population ratio for this cohort is now at its highest level since last March," analysts wrote.
Overall, the report suggests supply factors may be limiting job growth, and Fed officials are likely to remain on the sidelines near term.
11:15am: Dow below 50k
Stocks slipped on Thursday, with the Dow dropping below the 50,000 mark and the S&P 500 dipping back under its level from the start of the year, as investors digested mixed economic signals.
By midmorning, the Dow had lost 0.7% to sit around 49,747 while the S&P was down over 1%. The Nasdaq was in the red as well, off by 1.6%.
10:45am: Labor market still tight
US weekly jobless claims totaled 227,000 for the week ending February 7, slightly above economists’ expectations of 223,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The figures suggest a still-tight labor market as employers continue to retain workers amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
10am: Dow opens higher, Nasdaq dips
US stocks have made another uneven start.
The Dow Jones and S&P 500 have opened 0.4% and 0.2% higher, but the Nasdaq has slumped into the red after a slightly positive start.
Bigger losers on the Nasdaq include Applovin falling 13.5%, Cisco down 7%, Netflix 2.25% and Apple down 0.8%.
Top of the Dow are Goldman Sachs, Walmart and Salesforce, all up over 1.5%.
8.20am: S&P 500 expected to open higher
US stocks were expected to open moderately higher on Thursday as investors continue to digest the previous day’s jobs report and await inflation data at the end of the week.
Futures for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were all up 0.3%, wth Dow Jones futures lagging at 0.2%.
Stocks wrapped up the previous session pretty much where they started, with the S&P essentially flat at 6,941, the Dow down 0.1% to 50,121, the Nasdaq Composite slipping 0.2% to 23,066, and the small-cap Russell 2000 falling 0.4% to 2,669.
The non-farm payrolls report included a bumper 130k payrolls additions, beating forecasts but counteracted by a 862k write-down for 2025 jobs. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.3% from 4.4% and wages were up 0.4% month-over-month and 3.7% year-on-year – better than the rate of inflation.
Stocks initially surged and bonds sold off, as the strong data suggested the Federal Reserve will remain in no rush to cut rates, with this knocking the froth off stocks later in the session.
A parade of Fed speakers, including Cleveland’s Beth Hammack, Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan, Kansas City’s Jeffrey Schmid, were "basically saying the same thing", says market analyst Kenny Polcari at Slatestone Wealth. "Let the prior cuts work their way through the system before we just slash and burn rates again."
He says the crowd calling for immediate cuts, led by President Trump, "is just going to have to wait, and that causes them to throw a temper tantrum and hit the ‘sell’ button.
"And that’s when investors started to rethink the whole thing. Because if the labor market is stable and Fed officials are comfortable holding steady – the urgency for rate cuts fades. Which then raises the bigger question – how exactly is [Kevin] Warsh going to corral this FOMC into speaking with one voice if the mission is to lower rates?
"Fed chairs don’t just make the decision – it is a committee vote – he has to build consensus. And right now? The committee doesn’t sound ‘consensual’."