Dow rallies, S&P 500 and Nasdaq fall after tech-led losses, with Google earnings on deck
US stocks opened mixed on Wednesday as Wall Street found some calm after a tech-led slide amid a fresh wave of earnings and investors waited for Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) results to reveal the company’s AI mojo.
The blue chip-heavy Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) turned higher, picking up roughly 0.5%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped just below the flatline, while the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) fell roughly 0.6% after tech stocks bore the brunt of the selling on Tuesday.
Wall Street is trying to find its feet after AI disruption fears fueled a rush out of software stocks — spilling over into a deep global sell-off that hit Europe and Asia markets alike. Meanwhile, broader AI gloom has helped spur the rotation from high-profile tech names into value stocks, with Nvidia (NVDA) and Microsoft (MSFT) both taking a hit.
The spotlight is on Alphabet (GOOG) and Arm Holdings (ARM) results on Wednesday, with the focus on AI demand. After that, the countdown will begin for Amazon’s (AMZN) quarterly report on Thursday.
Even better-than-expected earnings are no longer enough to convince the market, JPMorgan warned, unless the company reporting can show that AI will be a tailwind rather than a headwind. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares sank around 13% as the chipmaker’s weak sales outlook cast doubt on its ability to take on AI bellwether Nvidia.
Pharma fortunes diverged as Eli Lilly‘s (LLY) stock jumped after it posted an upbeat 2026 profit forecast thanks to soaring demand for its weight-loss drugs. But shares in rival Novo Nordisk (NVO, NOVO-B.CO) tumbled after the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy shocked investors by forecasting a steep drop in sales.
Elsewhere in earnings, Chipotle‘s (CMG) stock retreated after the burrito chain reported another quarter of declining customer traffic. On the upside, Supermicro (SMCI) shares popped after the server maker upped its annual sales forecast.
Meanwhile, the gold (GC=F) comeback continued, rising above $5,000 an ounce as US and Iran actions at sea stoked a search for safe havens. At the same time, dip buyers continued to flock to precious metals following a steep pullback from record highs.
In the labor market, employers added just 22,000 jobs in January, according to data released Wednesday morning from ADP, well below consensus estimates of 45,000. The private data has taken on outsized importance amid the delay of federal jobs data from the partial government shutdown that ended Tuesday.
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