Wall Street opened the day on a losing note and extended the declines as technology stocks slid and bitcoin fell again, with traders also weighing a cluster of reports pointing to softening conditions in the U.S. labor market. The market’s broader retreat came after the S&P 500 had logged its sixth loss in seven days since setting an all-time high.
The index moves reflected the day’s rate-sensitive tone: the S&P 500 fell 1.2% and finished lower for the session, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 592.58 points, or 1.2%. The Nasdaq composite also declined, sliding 363.99 points, or 1.6%.
In technology, Qualcomm fell 8.5% even after the company reported that its latest-quarter profit and revenue topped analysts’ expectations. The stock’s decline followed the company’s forecast for profit in the current quarter coming in below what analysts expected, as an industrywide shortage of memory pushed some handset makers to cut back on orders.
Bond markets also moved lower, with Treasury yields sinking after a report said the number of U.S. workers applying for unemployment benefits rose last week by more than economists expected. A separate report also described a jump in layoffs announced by U.S.-based employers, which Challenger, Gray & Christmas said totaled 108,435 in January—the highest for a month since October.
The labor-market picture also included another government report indicating employers advertised the lowest number of job openings in December in more than five years. Together, the reports fed expectations that weaker hiring could encourage the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to support the economy, even as it could raise concerns about inflation. In the bond market, the 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.19% from 4.29% late Wednesday, and the selloff in rates coincided with steep moves in commodities.
Commodities swung sharply as well. Silver fell 9.1% in its latest move, while gold fell 1.2% to settle at $4,889.50 per ounce after trading volatility tied to investors’ earlier rush into perceived safe havens. The AP story noted that both gold and silver had surged as political turmoil concerns and criticisms that the stock market was expensive helped draw money toward safer holdings.
Bitcoin, which has been marketed as “digital gold,” also sank. The report said bitcoin briefly fell more than 12% to below $64,000, down from its record above $124,000 set in October, and the retreat dragged down companies exposed to crypto trading and holdings. Coinbase Global fell 13.3%, and Strategy—known for buying and holding bitcoin—declined 17.1%.
Outside of crypto, Alphabet weighed on the market after earlier losses were pared. The report said Alphabet, parent company of Google and YouTube, slipped 0.5% even after reporting stronger profit than analysts expected, as investors focused on the amount the company planned to spend on artificial-intelligence technology and whether the spending will pay off. Alphabet said spending on equipment and other investments could double this year to roughly $180 billion, exceeding analysts’ expectations of less than $119 billion, according to FactSet.
Other company moves reflected a split in the market’s mood between AI spending beneficiaries and firms hit by expectations or broader economic concerns. Estee Lauder topped Wall Street targets and raised its full fiscal-year forecasts, but the company’s shares still fell 19.2%, with analysts pointing to what they said investors may have been anticipating more given turnaround efforts and the effects of tariffs.
On the day’s gainers, Broadcom rose 0.8% and McKesson jumped 16.5% after reporting profit and revenue that exceeded analysts’ expectations; the health-care company also raised its forecasted range for profit this fiscal year. Investors then carried the risk-off tone into markets abroad, where indexes fell across much of Europe and Asia, including declines in London’s FTSE 100 after the Bank of England held rates steady, Germany’s DAX after the European Central Bank kept rates unchanged, and South Korea’s Kospi, which tumbled 3.9%.