Wednesday, February 4, 2026…4:10 PM ET
The rotation out of tech stocks continued, with Alphabet (Google) earnings coming after the close., though the Dow Jones rose on the session.
The Street has had a tough time finding its feet after AI disruption fears fueled a rush out of software stocks Tuesday. Meanwhile, broader AI gloom has helped spur the rotation from high-profile tech names into value stocks, with megacaps taking the hit, though the likes of Salesforce Inc. rallied back some off new lows this morning.
But Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said of the selloff in software companies: “It’s the most illogical thing in the world. There’s this notion that the tool is in decline and being replaced by AI. Would you use a screwdriver or invent a new screwdriver?”
West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures were back over $65 Wednesday, approaching a four-month high as geopolitical tension between the U.S. and Iran rekindled higher risk premiums. Reports indicated that plans for Iran nuclear talks were collapsing, erasing earlier signs that dialogue between Washington and Tehran could prevent military action in the Middle East. And we had yesterday’s interception of Iranian drones heading to the USS Abraham Lincoln.
In an interview with NBC News, President Trump said Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei “should be very worried,” but it’s not certain as I write when the pre-recorded interview was actually held, compared with the news flow.
Late in the day, crude dropped back below $65 after Iran’s foreign minister said talks will still take place this weekend in Istanbul. To be continued….
On the supply side U.S. crude inventories fell by 3.5 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration, though this was far less of a decline than estimated by API on Tuesday. There is still an ample supply of oil around the world.
Gold was back over the $5,000 mark this morning, and silver over $90, as investors assessed fresh U.S. economic data and its implications for the Federal Reserve’s policy path, particularly under a future new Fed chair, Kevin Warsh.
The ADP jobs report showed private payroll growth undershooting expectations, while the ISM services PMI was a bit stronger-than-forecast at 53.8. [Solid growth.]
Separately, the Washington Post issued devastating news to its staff this morning, saying the company is laying off about 30 percent of all its employees, including more than 300 of the roughly 800 journalists in the newsroom.
The Post is faltering badly under owner Jeff Bezos, with the Post’s executive editor, Matt Murray, saying on a call with newsroom employees that the company has lost too much money for too long and had not been meeting readers’ needs.
The sports department is being eliminated.
Sad day for the news business in general.
[4:00 PM ET closing prices for stocks; 3:45ish for commodities and bonds.]
Dow Jones +259, +0.5%, [49500]
S&P 500 -35%, -0.5% [6882]
Nasdaq -350%, -1.5% [22904]
Oil (WTI) $64.48
Gold $4965
Silver $87.50
Bitcoin $73,405 [4:00 PM ET]
U.S. 2-yr. 3.56%
U.S. 10-yr. 4.28%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.24%
Back tomorrow.
Brian Trumbore
