Following the mixed performance seen in the previous session, the major U.S. stock indexes all moved sharply lower during trading on Thursday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way lower, tumbling to its lowest closing level in over two months.
The major averages ended the day off their worst levels of the session but still firmly negative. The Nasdaq plunged 363.99 points or 1.6 percent to 22,540.59, the S&P 500 tumbled 84.32 points or 1.2 percent to 6,798.40 and the Dow slumped 592.58 points or 1.2 percent to 48,908.72.
Weakness among tech stocks continued to weigh on Wall Street amid a significant decrease by shares of Qualcomm (QCOM).
Qualcomm plummeted by 8.5 percent after the chipmaker reported fiscal first quarter earnings that exceeded estimates but provided disappointing guidance for the current quarter.
Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) ended the day well off its lows but still dipped by 0.5 percent after the company reported better than expected fourth quarter results but forecast a sharp increase in capital spending in 2026.
Tech stocks have moved sharply lower over the past few sessions amid concerns about valuations and the impact of artificial intelligence.
In U.S. economic news, a report released by the Labor Department showed first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits rose by much more than expected in the week ended January 31st.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims climbed to 231,000, an increase of 22,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 209,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 212,000.
With the bigger than expected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting 237,000 in the week ended December 6th.
The Labor Department also release a separate report showing job openings in the U.S. unexpectedly decreased to their lowest level in over five years in the month of December.
The Labor Department had originally been scheduled to release its more closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.
However, due to the brief government shutdown that ended earlier this week, the report is now scheduled to be released next Wednesday.
Sector News
Gold stocks moved sharply lower along with the price of the precious metal, resulting in a 6.3 percent nosedive by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index.
Software and computer hardware stocks also saw substantial weakness, dragging the Dow Jones U.S. Software Index and the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index by 5.1 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.
A steep drop by the price of crude oil also weighed on oil service stocks, as reflected by the 3.1 percent plunge by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index.
Financial, retail and pharmaceutical stocks also saw considerable weakness, moving lower along with most of the major sectors.
Other Markets
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Thursday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 0.9 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index fell by 0.6 percent.
The major European markets also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index declined by 0.5 percent and the French CAC 40 Index dipped by 0.3 percent.
In the bond market, treasuries moved sharply higher in reaction to the latest U.S. jobs data. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slumped 6.5 basis points to 4.210 percent.
Looking Ahead
The Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report was likely to be in the spotlight on Friday, but the release of the report has been postponed until next week due to the brief government shutdown that ended earlier this week.
Trading may subsequently be driven more by reaction to earnings news from Amazon (AMZN), with the online retail giant among the companies due to report their quarterly results after the close of today’s trading.
Business News
U.S. Stocks Move Sharply Lower Amid Continued Tech Weakness
2026-02-05 21:15:25
