By Heard Editors
What Happened in Markets Today
Tech stocks continued their selloff. Tuesday's software selloff spread on Wednesday to AI-enabling stocks that had rallied a lot this year. The worst performer in the Nasdaq was chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, which fell 17% after reporting worse-than-expected results. Micron Technology was also down 9.5%. Hard-drive makers Western Digital and Seagate fell 7.2% and 5.8%, respectively.
The bearish sentiment spread to power industry stocks. Constellation Energy and Vistra each shed nearly 7%. Shares of natural gas turbine manufacturer GE Vernova fell 4.4%. Fuel-cell maker Bloom Energy's shares plunged 13%.
Consumer staples gained. Consumer staples stocks, which are seen as a defensive play, rose. Shares of Campbell's and General Mills rose 5.7% and 4.3%, respectively.
Job growth slowed last month. ADP on Wednesday said that the private sector added 22,000 jobs in January, a decline from the 37,000 additions seen in December.
Oil prices rose after tensions in the Persian Gulf re-surfaced. Iran has abandoned its planned meeting with U.S. and regional officials in Turkey this week. This follows two acts of provocation on Tuesday: aiming a drone at a U.S. navy aircraft and chasing a U.S.-flagged ship. Front-month Brent crude futures rose 3.2% to $69.46.
This analysis comes from the Journal's Heard on the Street team. Subscribe to their free daily afternoon newsletter here.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 04, 2026 17:00 ET (22:00 GMT)
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