Updated Thu, January 29, 2026 at 11:11 AM EST 2 min read

US stocks sank in mid-morning trading on Thursday on a tech-driven selloff as investors came away from megacap tech earnings fretting about AI spending.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led losses, shedding roughy 2.6% amid an over 10% plunge from Microsoft (MSFT). The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) followed the tech sector down, shedding 1.5% and 0.8%, respectively, following Wednesday’s muted performance.

Microsoft’s slide deepened Thursday, after its earnings report spooked investors with higher-than-anticipated capital spending and a slowdown in quarterly cloud sales growth.

That took some of the wind out of Meta’s (META) earnings performance. Shares gained over 7% thanks to a surprisingly strong quarterly revenue outlook. And the company said it plans to spend up to $135 billion on its data center build-out this year, a boost to its push to win the AI race.

Meanwhile, Tesla (TSLA) flipped to a loss, shedding nearly 3% as the company focused on a strategy shift from EVs to robots and a quarterly earnings beat. But the company also saw its first-ever decline in annual revenue. Investors are now gearing up for Apple’s (AAPL) quarterly earnings, due after the closing bell.

The tech moves took focus amid an escalation in US-Iran tensions, stoked by President Trump’s warning to Iran that it must agree to a nuclear deal quickly or be hit with military strikes. Crude oil futures climbed to build on Tuesday’s four-month high as US ships massed in the region, with Brent surging past its latest resistance level of $70 per barrel. Gold also climbing, briefly re-topping a record $5,500 an ounce before paring gains as a declining dollar (DX-Y.NYB) added to the rush for shelter.

Wall Street is also digesting the Federal Reserve’s first monetary policy decision of 2026, in which it kept interest rates unchanged. Markets are pricing in two quarter-point rate cuts by year-end, per CME FedWatch, but an easing may not come before the end of Jerome Powell’s tenure in May. The watch is now on for an announcement from Trump of his pick as the next Fed chair, which he has said will come soon.

LIVE 15 updates

24 mins ago

Nasdaq sinks by 2.5% in biggest drop since October

The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) sank by more than 2.5% on Thursday, on track for its largest one-day drop since October, as the tech sector sold off during the heaviest earnings week for Big Tech.

Shares in Meta (META) spent Thursday morning surging by more than 10% before paring gains after the company beat analysts’ estimates on both the top and bottom lines and boasted of even stronger AI spending to come. But Mark Zuckerberg’s company was the lone bright spot on the day.

Microsoft (MSFT) shares plummeted by more than 12% as investors worried about slowing cloud growth and the company’s ballooning AI-fueled spending, and Tesla (TSLA) slid by nearly 2% after CEO Elon Musk announced a hard pivot toward robotics.

In what will be the most-watched tech news of the day, Apple (AAPL) is set to report earnings after the bell. Investors will be focused on the strength of Apple’s iPhone 17 sales and Services segment.

29 mins ago

Software services stocks slide as SAP earnings revive AI disruption worries

Shares of software services providers fell on Thursday morning after industry giant SAP’s (SAP) quarterly results revived worries about the risk of AI disruption to its business.

The German company’s cautious cloud sales outlook saw its stock shed 16%, while a weak earnings report from US peer ServiceNow (NOW) also signaled a stutter for the sector.

Leaders Salesforce (CRM) and Workday (WDAY) lost 8.2% and 9.6% in the sell-off, while ServiceNow saw a loss of more than 11%.

In recent months, the software sector has struggled to make solid gains as investor attention focused on its members’ exposure to competition from AI-linked companies. Their products could supplant much of what service software companies provide.

Today at 2:44 PM UTC

US stocks diverge as Thursday trading opens

US stocks began Thursday’s session trading mixed as the market reacted to the latest megacap tech earnings, with Apple’s (AAPL) report to come after the bell.

Meanwhile, gold (GC=F) and oil (BZ=F) both picked up gains as President Trump hardened his tone against Iran, while the dollar (DX-Y.NYB) slid.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) shed around 0.6%, while the blue-chip benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) picked up roughly 0.4%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) hovered right above flat.

Investors will be watching to see whether the S&P 500 can cross 7,000 again after Meta (META) shares surged over 8% in the first minutes of trading, thanks to a surprisingly strong quarterly revenue outlook.

Today at 2:13 PM UTC

Oil prices jump in Iran risk premium, tighter than expected US commercial reserves

Oil prices jumped more than 3% in morning trading on Thursday as investors priced in the risk of potential escalations in Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial shipping route Iran largely controls.

Futures on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international pricing benchmark, flirted with $70 a barrel, while those on the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude gained to trade above $65.

The gains add to a run-up over the past month that has seen oil pick up roughly 15% as geopolitical risk premiums and cold weather have buoyed prices even as global onshore crude stocks have remained elevated.

"We expected Brent below $60/BBL by now and trending towards the low $50 range. Instead, geopolitical risk premium and physical supply losses have created a strong floor," Macquarie Group global energy strategist Vikas Dwivedi wrote in a recent note to clients.

Recent moves by the US military to position near Iran naval vessels and other equipment capable of striking inside the country have kept worries alive around potential disruptions to the Strait of Hormuz. The strait sees roughly 20 million barrels of oil, or a full quarter of global maritime oil trade, cross its waters every day. disruptions would have wide ripple effects on supply and pricing.

On top of the geopolitical risk, US commercial crude inventories in the US for the week ended Jan. 23 decreased by 2.3 million barrels from the previous week, according to data released Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration. Analysts at Macquarie had expected a growth of 900,000 barrels.

Today at 1:51 PM UTC

Weekly jobless claims fall slightly to 209,000

US applications for unemployment benefits decreased modestly to 209,000 for the week ending Jan. 24, data from the Labor Department showed Thursday. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected jobless claims to fall to 205,000.

Continuing claims, a proxy for the total number of people receiving benefits, fell by 38,000 to 1.82 million, bringing the four-week moving average of continuing claims lower, to 1.86 million.

The data comes a day after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and Fed Chair Jerome Powell made the case that the labor market had "stabilized" after a period of gradual cooling.

While job gains have remained low, the unemployment rate has changed little in recent months, Powell said.

Today at 1:08 PM UTC

Caterpillar stock rises as power equipment sales lift profits

Caterpillar (CAT) stock rose 1.5% in premarket trading after its earnings showed it’s still a beneficiary of the AI data center build-out, but also that it expects to take another major hit from tariffs in 2026.

The construction and mining equipment maker reported an adjusted profit of $5.16 per share for the quarter, up from $5.14 ⁠per share a ‌year earlier. Revenue rose to $19.1 billion from $16.2 billion. Those figures were above Wall Street’s expectations of $4.71 earnings per share and revenue of $17.7 billion, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The results were boosted by sales of power generation equipment to AI data center developers. Sales in Caterpillar’s power and energy segment rose 23% year over year to $9.4 billion.

"I think what often gets overlooked is that AI is really an industrial story," Gabelli Funds portfolio manager Brian Sponheimer told Yahoo Finance. "As this data center rollout has happened, ... it’s created structural demand for industrial-grade power solutions, and no company is really as well situated to drive that supply than Caterpillar."

However, Caterpillar is still facing headwinds from higher tariffs. Reuters reported that Caterpillar warned ofa $2.6 billion tariff impact in 2026. In the fourth quarter, operating profit fell 9%, largely due to unfavorable manufacturing costs.

Today at 12:34 PM UTC

Comcast sheds more broadband customers as wireless competition mounts

Media group Comcast (CMCSA) reported a loss in broadband customers in its fourth quarter earnings on Thursday. The decline missed analysts’ estimates and was driven by competitors offering consumers more cost-effective, aggressive offers.

The stock edged higher before the bell on Thursday.

Reuters reports:

Read more here.

Today at 12:11 PM UTC

Premarket trending tickers: Las Vegas Sands, Royal Caribbean and Whirlpool

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) stock fell as much as 10% during premarket trading. The casino operator’s adjusted earnings fell short of analyst expectations.

Royal Caribbean (RCL) stock rose 6% before the bell on Thursday after the cruise operator’s 2026 earnings guidance beat Wall Street estimates.

Whirlpool (WHR**) **stock sank 10% during premarket hours today after reporting an unexpected decline in sales.

Today at 10:48 AM UTC

SAP shares plunge after cloud backlog, guidance disappoint

SAP (SAP) stock fell 15% before the bell on Thursday after reporting a cloud backlog and posting disappointing guidance.

The German firm said its cloud preorders reached $25 billion, but it missed analysts’ estimates by about 1%. The delay has been blamed on a few "mega deals" that are taking longer to get up and running.

Reuters reports:

Read more here.

Today at 10:43 AM UTC

Microsoft stock slips after Q2 earnings beat, cloud revenue tops $50 billion

Microsoft (MSFT) shares fell almost 7% before the bell as a solid quarterly earnings beat still left investors disappointed.

Yahoo Finance’s Daniel Howley reports:

Read more here.

Today at 10:36 AM UTC

Meta stock climbs after Zuckerberg says: ‘We are now seeing a major AI acceleration’

Shares in Meta (META) surged in premarket, up over 7% as investors welcome raised guidance for this year’s spending plans amid a Big Tech AI spending spree.

“We are now seeing a major AI acceleration," Mark Zuckerberg stated on Meta’s earnings call late Wednesday.

That theme was consistent throughout Meta’s earnings call, as the CEO touted new AI models and products that the company is working on.

Zuckerberg said that since the beginning of 2025, Meta has seen a 30% increase in productivity from its engineers due to the adoption of AI coding tools. The power users of those tools have seen their output increase by 80%, Zuckerberg said.

“We’re starting to see agents really work," he added. "This will unlock the ability to build completely new products and transform how we work.”

Read more here.* on Meta’s earnings beat from Yahoo Finance’s Daniel Howley. *

Today at 10:05 AM UTC

IBM stock surges as software revenue growth accelerates

International Business Machines (IBM) stock surged 8% in premarket trading on Thursday after growth in the company’s software business drove 12% revenue growth for the fourth quarter.

Revenue increased to $19.69 billion, beating forecasts of $19.21 billion, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. Software revenue was up 14% in the quarter, Consulting revenue increased 3%, while Infrastructure revenue rose 21%.

IBM has focused on its Hybrid Cloud and Red Hat software platforms, which have been primary drivers of the stock’s 30% gain over the past year.

Earnings per share came in at $4.52, compared to estimates of $4.32.

Read more from Reuters.

Today at 9:46 AM UTC

Oil climbs from four-month high as Trump ramps up Iran threats

Oil rose for a third day, building on historic highs after President Trump told Iran it would face US military attacks if it failed to agree a nuclear deal.

Brent crude futures (BZ=F), the global benchmark, moved up 2.4% to nearly $69 a barrel, coming off the highest close since September on Wednesday, Meanwhile, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate futures (CL=F) jumped 2.6% to above $64.

From Bloomberg:

Read more here.

Today at 5:19 AM UTC

Asian shares mixed bag as region reacts to American Fed rate

Reuters reports:

*Read more here. *

Today at 3:21 AM UTC

Gold holds above $5,500 as dollar sinks

Yahoo Finance’s Ines Ferre reports:

Read more here.