By Megan Leonhardt
Tech Stays Down. Tech dominated the headlines again today, as the sector slump entered day two. The good news? Most of today's earnings reports were solid, even if not solid enough to stem the losses.
The Nasdaq Composite fell more than 1.5% on Wednesday, for its worst two-day stretch since October. The S&P 500 was down 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is less tech-centric than the other indexes managed to rise 260 points, or 0.5%.
Chip maker Advanced Micro Devices weighed on the broader market, with shares down 17% even after reporting better-than-expected earnings. Broadcom and Micron Technology weren't looking so hot either.
Late today, Google parent-company Alphabet reported solid fourth-quarter earnings results. The company's advertising business made big gains, and its large language model Gemini had 750 million monthly active users in the fourth quarter, up from the 650 million previously.
But, in an increasingly familiar narrative, aggressive spending plans likely diminished the post earnings glow-up. Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company's capital expenditures for 2026 are now expected to be $175 billion to $185 billion -- far more than the $116 billion estimated by FactSet. Shares were falling in late trading.
Earnings may be keeping Wall Street preoccupied, but Congress was making headlines as well today -- and for something other than failing to pass budget bills.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent traveled to Capitol Hill, getting grilled on everything from the slumping dollar to Federal Reserve independence.
Bessent didn't shy away from responding to lawmakers. "We always support a strong dollar policy," he told Rep. Bill Foster (D., Ill.).
That's a contrast to President Donald Trump's comments in the past in which he's argued that the U.S. has a currency problem and that a weaker dollar makes a lot more money, as my colleague Karishma Vanjani pointed out.
Bessent also told lawmakers on Wednesday that the president has the right to interfere with the decision-making of the Federal Reserve.
When Bessent was asked by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D., Mo.) if he would advise a president to "verbally and politically interfere" with the central bank's decision-making, Bessent said the president had that right.
"It is his right...It is the right of everyone in here," Bessent said, apparently referring to the House members at the hearing. Barron's Emily Russell, who covered the hearing, noted that Bessent reaffirmed a belief in the Fed's independence when it comes to monetary policy. But, it seems, that autonomy has its limits.
The Hot Stock: Super Micro Computer +13.8% The Biggest Loser: Boston Scientific -17.6%
Best Sector: Energy +2.3% Worst Sector: Information Technology -1.9%
BLS Shuffles Calendar
After a short delay, the Bureau of Labor Statistics plans to publish its January jobs report next Wednesday, Feb. 11.
The report was originally set for release on Friday, but was delayed thanks to the four-day partial government shutdown. The new pub date isn't without its issues, though. To allow for the jobs report to be released next Wednesday, the BLS has to push back the release of the January consumer price index data until Feb. 13. Inflation-adjusted data on real earnings will also be moved to Feb. 13.
The agency said the December Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey release, originally set to be released on Tuesday, Feb. 3, will now be available tomorrow.
The January employment report will be widely analyzed to determine whether the job market is stabilizing. Some of the January data are pointing to weaker job growth.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits remained low in January, but payroll processor ADP reported Wednesday that the U.S. added just 22,000 jobs to private payrolls last month. That was about half of the expected gain.
The latest ADP report alone won't be enough to sway Federal Reserve policymakers or alter interest-rate expectations, writes Bret Kenwell, U.S. investment analyst at eToro. "But if the January jobs report shows a similar dynamic, it should at a minimum help keep the Fed from adopting an overly restrictive stance as the first quarter progresses."
Nonfarm payrolls are still expected to show more robust growth. The consensus call among economists surveyed by FactSet is that employers added 80,000 jobs last month, up slightly from the 50,000 gain in December. Unemployment is expected to remain steady at 4.4%.
The Calendar
Amazon.com, Ares Management, Bristol Myers Squibb, Camden Property Trust, Cardinal Health, Carrier Global, Cigna, ConocoPhillips, Cummins, Digital Realty Trust, Equity Residential, Fortinet, Gen Digital, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Hershey, Intercontinental Exchange, Iqvia Holdings, KKR, Linde, Mettler-Toledo International, Microchip Technology, Molina Healthcare, Monolithic Power Systems, News Corp, Ralph Lauren, Regency Centers, Rockwell Automation, Shell, Snap-On, Tapestry, VeriSign, and Xcel Energy report earnings tomorrow.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the delayed December Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Economists forecast 7.18 million job openings on the last business day of December, about 30,000 more than initially reported in November.
What We're Reading Today
-- A Shortseller Claims the Leading Quantum Computing Company Isn't All It Seems to Be -- AMD Can't Bridge the Gap Between AI Hope and Near-Term Reality -- Eli Lilly Again Tops $1 Trillion Market Cap. Earnings Show the Stock Can Still Surprise. -- You're a Millionaire. Smart Investment Tips From 5 Money Pros. -- How UnitedHealth's Comeback Ran Aground
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 04, 2026 19:55 ET (00:55 GMT)
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