MARKET SNAPSHOT
U.S. stocks ended mixed as the technology sector suffered from losses in semiconductor companies. The 10-year Treasury yield rose and the two-year declined amid indications of labor cooldown. Oil prices jumped on growing tensions between Iran and the U.S. Gold and silver prices posted moderate gains even as the dollar strengthened.
MARKET WRAPS
EQUITIES
The Nasdaq composite fell as chip stocks came under fresh selling pressure and concerns lingered about potential AI disruption to software companies.
The Nasdaq composite pared some losses in afternoon trading, but still finished 1.5% lower, its fourth down session in five trading days. Disappointing results from chip maker AMD sent its stock down 17%, its biggest pullback since 2017. Palantir, Micron and AppLovin all fell 9% or more.
The Dow industrials held up better, gaining 0.5% as the blue-chip average benefited from gains in Amgen, McDonald's and 3M. Some U.S. software companies, such as Adobe, Intuit and Workday, retraced some of their sharp Monday declines. Global peers fell, from Japan's Fujitsu and India's Infosys to LSEG in Europe. The S&P 500 lost 0.5%.
Investors have long harbored concerns that artificial intelligence will undercut the lucrative business models of companies specializing in code, databases and IT services. But recent advancements, such as new tools from Anthropic, have sharpened those worries. Nvidia's Jensen Huang, however, called the idea that AI would replace software "the most illogical thing in the world."
Earlier Wednesday, markets in Asia were mixed as software stocks followed their U.S. and European peers lower.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 lost 0.8%, as information technology provider TIS tumbled close to 16%.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat, while China's benchmark Shanghai Composite climbed 0.8%. The Shenzhen Composite Index added 0.3% and the tech-focused ChiNext Price Index gained 0.4%.
Stocks in Australia settled higher, as the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.8%.
New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index increased 0.3%.
COMMODITIES
Crude oil futures gained on renewed U.S.-Iran risks following reports that talks set to be held Friday may not happen because of disagreement over venue and subjects to be included.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the venue was still being worked out, and that the U.S.is "prepared to engage with Iran."
While Iran wants only to discuss its nuclear program, the U.S. seeks a wider range of subjects including the nuclear program, Iran's ballistic missiles and sponsorship of militia groups in the region.
"We'll see if we can get back to the right place," Rubio said. "If the Iranians want to meet we're ready."
WTI settled up 3.1% at $65.14 a barrel. Brent gained 3.2% to $69.46.
Both gold and silver futures hit the ground running in early trading, but pared gains as the day advanced.
Front-month gold futures settled 0.3% higher to $4,920.40 a troy ounce, while silver rose 1.4% to $84.165 a troy ounce.
While it's the second-consecutive higher close for both precious metals, a resumption of the deep slides seen late last week could be in the cards, said Dave Toth of StoneX.
TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES
AI Threatens a Wall Street Cash Cow: Financial and Legal Data
For years it seemed like a surefire business model: amass vast troves of financial data and sell it to Wall Street for a premium. Then Claude came along.
Shares of companies such as S&P Global, MSCI, Intercontinental Exchange, London Stock Exchange Group and FactSet Research Systems all tumbled this week after fast-growing artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic unveiled a new suite of tools for automating legal tasks.
The new legal plug-in for Anthropic's Cowork assistant, powered by its AI model Claude, didn't seem to have much to do with financial data. Nonetheless, LSEG-which has spent years pivoting away from its traditional stock-exchange business to selling data and analytics-slid 13% on Tuesday, and its shares dropped further Wednesday morning.
Private-Sector Job Growth Cooled in January
Hiring in the new year is off to a slow start.
America's private sector added 22,000 jobs in January, human-resources firm ADP estimated on Wednesday, less than half the tally expected by analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. The new numbers suggest hiring slowed from the already-soft 37,000 new private-sector jobs that ADP reported in December.
The new numbers don't offer a complete picture of the entire labor market. Unlike the federal jobs report released each month, ADP doesn't track government hiring, such as immigration officers or public-school teachers. But the numbers do offer a vital measure of employment in private companies, small businesses and large corporations. Such alternative data sources are becoming more prominent as government reports are delayed by shutdowns.
U.S. Enlists Mexico, EU and Japan in Its Minerals Race With China
WASHINGTON-The U.S. has agreed to work with Japan, Mexico and the European Union on the development of critical minerals used in industries such as defense, the Trump administration said on Wednesday.
The move builds on President Trump's efforts to combat China's dominance in the sector. Under the proposed agreements, the nations will work together to identify critical minerals necessary for certain industries and develop policies to encourage their mining and processing into products like rare earth magnets, U.S. officials said. Such minerals are used in components critical for the production of high-end military technologies and consumer products such as cars.
China currently dominates the critical minerals and rare earths sector, accounting for about 90% of the processing capacity necessary to turn the minerals into useful products like rare earth magnets, according to the International Energy Administration. Last year, Beijing put new license requirements on exports of those magnets, allowing it to cut off the supply of the products to industries from automakers to defense contractors, potentially grinding them to a halt.
U.S. January Econ Data Will Come Next Week After Brief Shutdown Delay
The government's official January jobs and inflation figures will land next week after a short delay caused by the recent partial-government shutdown, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Wednesday.
The January jobs report, originally scheduled for Friday, will now be published on Wednesday, Feb. 11. The January consumer-price index, originally scheduled for next Wednesday, will now appear on Friday, Feb. 13.
The statistics system had barely caught up with more extensive delays caused by last fall's government shutdown when another funding lapse this week pushed back the publication of January data. The latest shutdown will prove far less disruptive, because unlike the six-week closure that began in October, the partial shutdown this week was too brief to cause serious interruptions to the government's data-collection efforts.
Trump Says He Spoke With China's Xi About Iran
WASHINGTON-President Trump said he spoke Wednesday with Xi Jinping about the "situation in Iran," hours after the Chinese leader held a call with Moscow on those same escalating tensions.
The sequence of the calls underscored the divide among the world's major powers over the Middle East. In a social-media post, Trump highlighted the trade aspects of his conversation with Xi that included China's purchases-by the country that is the largest buyer of Iranian oil-of U.S. oil and gas.
During Xi's videoconference with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Wednesday, the two leaders appeared to be hardening in a united front. According to Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov, Xi and Putin "checked their approaches," aligning their positions on global flashpoints, including over Iran, Venezuela and Cuba.
Google to Double Spending as Earnings Beat Wall Street Expectations
Google parent Alphabet reported a 18% jump in fourth-quarter revenue, driven by growth in its digital-advertising and cloud-computing units as it ramped up spending on artificial intelligence.
Sales reached nearly $114 billion, ahead of analyst expectations. Net income was $34.5 billion, a 30% increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
The company reported a record $403 billion in sales in 2025. Profit reached about $132 billion last year.
Qualcomm First-Quarter Sales Rise, But Memory Shortage Dents Outlook
Qualcomm logged higher revenue in its fiscal first quarter, but said the memory supply shortage will put a damper on its performance in the current quarter.
The semiconductor company on Wednesday posted a profit of $3 billion, or $2.78 a share, in the fiscal first quarter, compared with $3.18 billion, or $2.83 a share, a year earlier.
Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were $3.50, ahead of the $3.39 anticipated by analysts, according to FactSet.
Arm Holdings Third-Quarter Profit Falls Despite Revenue Growth
Arm Holdings logged lower profit in its latest quarter despite a rise in sales due to increased demand for its chips in artificial intelligence data centers.
The British semiconductor company on Wednesday posted a profit of $223 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with $252 million, or 24 cents a share, a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings per share were 43 cents, ahead of estimates of 41 cents a share according to analysts polled by FactSet.
Expected Major Events for Thursday
00:30/AUS: Dec International Trade in Goods & Services
01:00/PHI: Jan CPI
02:00/JPN: Jan Imported Vehicle Sales
03:30/THA: Jan CPI
04:00/INA: 4Q GDP
05:00/SIN: Dec Retail Sales
08:00/TAI: Jan Price Indexes: Consumer Prices (CPI)
08:20/TAI: Jan International Reserves
23:00/SKA: Dec Balance of payments
23:30/JPN: Dec Household Spending
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February 04, 2026 16:59 ET (21:59 GMT)
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