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What is the story about?
US stocks declined on Wednesday (February 4) as technology shares came under pressure. The S&P 500 Index fell 0.4% at 11:18 a.m. in New York, while the Nasdaq 100 Index dropped 1.5%, marking its second consecutive day of losses. The Cboe Volatility Index hovered near 19.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) plunged 16% after its first-quarter forecast fell short of analyst expectations. CEO Lisa Su said the company has seen increasing demand in recent months, noting that artificial intelligence adoption is accelerating faster than anticipated.
It also gave a forecast for revenue for the start of 2026 that topped analysts’ expectations, but that may not have been enough for investors after its stock had doubled over the last 12 months.
Other semiconductor stocks also suffered. Broadcom declined 5%, and Micron Technology fell 9%, contributing to the broader tech selloff. Software names faced continued pressure, with Oracle down 4% and CrowdStrike losing 1%. Microsoft was among the few bright spots, rising nearly 1% amid the market weakness.
Market action was dominated early on by a selloff in global providers of data analytics, professional services and software after Anthropic's launch of plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent on Friday raised worries about an AI-fuelled disruption to those industries.
Big Tech stocks are facing criticism that their prices shot too high following their years-long dominance of the market. Companies like software makers, meanwhile, are struggling with questions about whether they’ll lose in the future to competitors powered by artificial-intelligence technology.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) plunged 16% after its first-quarter forecast fell short of analyst expectations. CEO Lisa Su said the company has seen increasing demand in recent months, noting that artificial intelligence adoption is accelerating faster than anticipated.
It also gave a forecast for revenue for the start of 2026 that topped analysts’ expectations, but that may not have been enough for investors after its stock had doubled over the last 12 months.
Other semiconductor stocks also suffered. Broadcom declined 5%, and Micron Technology fell 9%, contributing to the broader tech selloff. Software names faced continued pressure, with Oracle down 4% and CrowdStrike losing 1%. Microsoft was among the few bright spots, rising nearly 1% amid the market weakness.
Market action was dominated early on by a selloff in global providers of data analytics, professional services and software after Anthropic's launch of plug-ins for its Claude Cowork agent on Friday raised worries about an AI-fuelled disruption to those industries.
Big Tech stocks are facing criticism that their prices shot too high following their years-long dominance of the market. Companies like software makers, meanwhile, are struggling with questions about whether they’ll lose in the future to competitors powered by artificial-intelligence technology.
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