Jobs Jolt and Tech Slide Deepen the Selloff 06/02/2026

HOT stories for today

Market wrap:

• U.S. stocks extended their slide Thursday as a broad risk-off mood unwound crowded trades in technology and bitcoin. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2%, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.23% to slip into negative territory for the year. The Nasdaq Composite declined 1.59%. At session lows, the Dow was down about 1.4%, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq off roughly 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively. Alphabet became the latest “Magnificent Seven” company to report results, unsettling investors with plans to sharply ramp artificial-intelligence spending and forecast up to $185 billion in capital expenditures for 2026. The shares slipped 0.5%. Broadcom gained nearly 1% on the prospect of increased AI demand, offering a tentative bright spot as investors reassessed winners and losers in the trade. Qualcomm tumbled more than 8% after issuing a weaker-than-expected outlook tied to a global memory shortage. 
• The cryptocurrency selloff accelerated, with bitcoin falling below $64,000 after breaking the $70,000 level, which had been seen as key support. In metals, silver reversed a two-day rebound and slid as much as 16%, following a nearly 30% plunge last Friday. Labor-market data added to the negative tone. Challenger reported January layoffs surged 118% from a year earlier, the highest January total since 2009, with Amazon, UPS, and Dow accounting for nearly half the cuts. Amazon shares fell 10% in after-hours trading after the company projected $200 billion in capital spending for 2026. The retailer also surpassed $700 billion in annual revenue, but investors focused on the scale of planned outlays.

Anthropic AI Spurs Software Selloff

• Software stocks slid this week after AI startup Anthropic introduced new Claude “Cowork” agent tools that can handle complex professional workflows, the kind of tasks SaaS vendors and data providers sell as core products. The rollout revived fears that AI agents could undercut pricing and erode traditional software business models across areas such as research, CRM, and analytics.Some executives dismissed the selloff as overdone. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang called the idea that AI will replace enterprise software “the most illogical thing in the world,” arguing it will augment existing tools.
• Arm CEO Rene Haas likewise said enterprise AI adoption is still early, describing the backlash as “micro-hysteria.” Still, skepticism has been building: hedge funds have shorted roughly $24 billion of software shares this year. Analysts remain split. Wedbush said the move priced in an “Armageddon scenario” that’s unlikely given entrenched enterprise software stacks, while others expect AI-driven workflows to pressure margins and valuation multiples. Many see mission-critical platforms such as Oracle and ServiceNow as better positioned to coexist with AI than be displaced outright.

Stocks on the move:

• Reddit (RDDT): Shares rose 4% after fourth-quarter results topped expectations. The company also issued upbeat 2026 guidance and announced a $1 billion share buyback.
• Fortinet (FTNT): The cybersecurity firm jumped more than 5% after Q4 adjusted EPS of 81 cents on revenue of $1.91 billion beat LSEG estimates of 74 cents and $1.86 billion. Fortinet also increased its repurchase authorization by $1 billion.
• Iren (IREN): The data-center operator fell 10% after fiscal second-quarter results missed forecasts. Adjusted EBITDA was $75.3 million on revenue of $184.7 million, versus FactSet estimates of $92.1 million and $224.3 million.
• Atlassian (TEAM): Shares slid more than 9% after the company guided to full-year revenue growth of about 22%, only slightly above the FactSet consensus of 21.1%. Fiscal Q2 adjusted EPS was $1.22 versus LSEG’s $1.14 estimate, while revenue came in at $1.59 billion, topping the $1.54 billion forecast.

Watchlist: AMZN, COIN, TEAM, IREN, RDDT, FTNT, RBLX, BIIB

Key Economic Events Today:

EST time

10:00 am: USD Consumer Sentiment
10:00 am: USD Inflation Expectations
12:00 pm: USD FOMC Member Jefferson Speaks



Earnings

BMO (Before Market Open): Phillip Morris (PM), Biogen (BIIB), AerCap (AER), The Carlyle (CG), Under Armour (UA)

AMC (After Market Close): Enjoy the weekend!


The TEFS Analyst team wishes you a successful day!