Today saw a downward trend in the stock market, with leading indices such as the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq witnessing a fall due to various factors. Alphabet’s shares dropped more than 4% despite beating Wall Street’s Q4 expectations, as its plan to more than double its capital expenditures for AI-related infrastructure was not well received. However, AI-product providers benefiting from Google such as Broadcom saw their stocks climb by 6%.
Negative news also came from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with January layoffs surging to their highest since 2009, which in turn dampened investor confidence. Amidst geopolitical tensions, oil prices saw volatility with up to a 3% rise following President Trump’s threats against Iran, but dropped as fears eased.
As for individual stocks, Anthropic launched Claude Opus 4.6, a major artificial intelligence model. Concerns about the impact of AI tools on the software sector caused the WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund to drop over 20% this year. Also, President Trump’s refusal to negate a possible criminal investigation over his Federal Reserve chair pick Kevin Warsh led to heated discussions.
Elizabeth Warren plans to condemn Trump’s sale of 500,000 advanced AI chips to the UAE due to allegations of bribery. The financial impact of Trump family’s involvement in World Liberty Financial is also currently under scrutiny.
Financial commentator Jim Cramer cautioned investors against buying most tech stocks amidst a sell-off, and noted Alphabet’s potential as a buy despite a near 5% drop. The market also observed a significant loss of nearly 7% in Eli Lilly shares as Hims & Hers Health revealed a generic version of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy weight-loss pill.
Other major movements included Amazon shares falling over 3% before the announcement of Q4 earnings, and cosmetic company Estée Lauder’s 22% plunge following Q2 results. An AI and a chip-related deal involving Estée Lauder is expected to take a $100 million toll on full-year profitability.
Sources:
Software stocks struggle, Google’s AI spending, layoffs surge and more in Morning Squawk
Trump would decide whether to investigate Fed pick Warsh over refusal to cut rates: Bessent
Anthropic launches Claude Opus 4.6 as AI moves toward a ‘vibe working’ era
Warren to call for reversal of Trump’s UAE chip sales after ‘Spy Sheikh’ revelations
Jim Cramer spots 2 stocks to buy as market drops for a third straight day
Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Amazon, Canada Goose, Estee Lauder, Qualcomm & more
Amazon set to report earnings with AI spend, cloud growth, job cuts in focus
Estée Lauder expects $100 million tariff hit to full-year profitability; stock sinks more than 20%
Amazon earnings are coming out postmarket Thursday. Here’s what Wall Street expects
Qualcomm stock sinks 10% as company issues dire warning on memory shortage