Wall Street took a hit on Thursday, February 5, 2026. Stocks fell across the board as worries grew over Alphabet’s huge spending on AI and signs that the US job market is slowing down. It felt like a rough day for investors who had been riding high on tech gains.
The numbers tell the story. The S&P 500 dropped 1.1%. That’s its sixth loss in the last seven trading days since it hit a record high. The Dow Jones fell 425 points, or about 0.9%. The Nasdaq, full of tech stocks, slid 1.5%. Tech got hit hardest because of Alphabet.
Alphabet is Google’s parent company. It reported good quarterly profits that beat what experts expected. But the market didn’t cheer. Instead, people focused on the company’s plan to spend way more on AI gear and projects. Alphabet said its capital spending could double this year to around $180 billion. That’s much higher than the less than $119 billion analysts had guessed.
CEO Sundar Pichai talked about these big investments during a Google event in California. The goal is to stay ahead in the AI race. But investors started asking tough questions. Will all this money pay off soon enough? Or is it too much spending with no quick wins? Alphabet’s stock fell up to 4.5%, dragging other tech names lower.
On top of that, fresh US jobs data looked shaky. Unemployment claims rose more than expected last week. That hints layoffs might pick up speed. A report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed US companies announced 108,435 job cuts in January. That’s the highest monthly number since October and the worst January since 2009. Job postings in December also dropped compared to before.
Some economists said the weekly claims jump might just be noise and that overall jobless levels stay low. But the data spooked people. Bond yields fell—the 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 4.23% from 4.29%. Lower yields often mean investors think the economy needs help, maybe from Fed rate cuts. That could fight a slowdown but might add to inflation worries.
The sell-off wasn’t just in stocks. Commodities felt it too. Silver prices plunged 9.8%. Gold fell 1.5% to $4,874.20 per ounce after swinging wildly. Bitcoin dropped below $69,000 from its high over $124,000 in October. Global markets joined in. Europe’s main indexes fell 0.5% to 0.7%. In Asia, South Korea’s Kospi crashed 3.9%.
This comes after a long run-up in stocks, especially tech, fueled by AI excitement. Now doubts creep in. Is the AI boom overpriced? Will big spending hurt profits? And with jobs softening, could the economy slow more than expected?
Investors pulled back from risky bets and moved to safer spots. The mood shifted fast from greed to caution. Wall Street has seen big swings before, but this mix of tech spending fears and labor weakness feels fresh and real.
People watch closely for what’s next. Will more earnings reports calm nerves or add fuel? Could the Fed signal cuts? For now, it’s a reminder that even strong companies face tough questions when billions go into new tech like AI. Markets stay on edge, and everyone waits to see if this dip turns into something bigger or bounces back quick.