AI-fueled tech selling and weak labor signals rattled major U.S. indexes today, with software stocks in freefall, Feb. 5, 2026.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.23%) fell 1.23% to 6,798.40 today as AI‑driven tech selling and weak labor data pressured sentiment. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC 1.59%) dropped 1.59% to 22,540.59, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 1.20%) slid 1.20% to 48,908.72.
Market movers
Mega‑cap tech remained the epicenter of the sell‑off today. Alphabet (GOOGL 0.20%) initially dropped amid investor concerns about soaring AI capex. It recovered slightly by market close, falling 0.60% to $331.33.
Dow members Verizon (VZ +0.30%) and Phillips 66 (PSX 0.29%) traded on company‑specific leadership and restructuring headlines. Nio (NIO +5.97%) was among the gainers after the electric-vehicle maker put out a profit alert today.
What this means for investors
Markets continued to drop as tech stocks failed to find solid ground and the macroeconomic backdrop weakened. Challenger announced job cuts had surged in January, heightening worries of a slowdown. The Nasdaq has fallen 4.83% in the past five days, driven in part by the AI replacement-driven sell-off in SaaS stocks.
Today, AI disruptor Anthropic introduced its new model, Claude Opus 4.6. It is capable of conducting detailed financial research as well as legal, coding, and other tasks. ServiceNow (NOW 7.32%) fell 7.60% to $102.63 and Salesforce (CRM 4.89%) closed at $189.94, down 4.76%.
Bitcoin (BTC 9.48%) tumbled to below $65,000, putting it down almost 35% year-on-year. Bitcoin miner and crypto treasury company, Mara Holdings (MARA 18.30%) fell almost 20% today. Gold and silver prices also suffered. The ProShares Ultra Silver (AGQ 30.46%) dropped by over 30% today.
Emma Newbery has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Bitcoin, Phillips 66, Salesforce, and ServiceNow. The Motley Fool recommends Verizon Communications. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.