US stocks end mostly lower amid tech slide, weak private employment data

ISTANBUL

US stocks ended mostly lower Wednesday as a decline in tech shares continued for a second day and the private sector posted weaker-than-expected employment data for January.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.53%, or 260.31 points, to close at 49,501.30.

On the other hand, the Nasdaq declined 1.51%, or 350.61 points, to 22,904.58 and the S&P 500 fell 0.51%, or 35.09 points, to 6,882.72.

The Volatility Index (VIX), also known as the "fear index,” rose 3.56% to 18.64 points.

Following Anthropic's announcement of a new AI tool capable of handling legal work, financial analysis and sales tasks, concerns increased that the operations of some companies could be negatively impacted, leaving software companies' shares under pressure.

Shares of Oracle and CrowdStrike fell by 5.1% and 1.5%, respectively.

After AMD's first-quarter projection disappointed some analysts, the company's shares fell 17.3%, weighing on the whole market.

"AI is accelerating at a pace that I would not have imagined," AMD CEO Lisa Su told CNBC on Wednesday, defending the figures and pointing out that the firm has seen a rise in demand in recent months.

Other firms in the chip industry like Micron Technology and Broadcom also experienced losses, with the latter falling 3.8% and the former sliding 9.5%.

Palantir Technologies, whose shares rose nearly 7% earlier in the week after releasing its earnings report and exceeding expectations, saw its shares fall 11.6% Wednesday.

In the pharmaceutical sector, Eli Lilly's shares rose 10.4% after its fourth-quarter earnings and profits for last year exceeded market forecasts as well as its expectations for 2026.

On the data side, ADP's private nonfarm payrolls rose 22,000 in January, well below market expectations of 46,000. In 2025, private employers added just 398,000 jobs, down from 771,000 in 2024.

Meanwhile, following the US Trade Representative's announcement of plans to establish price floors with allies, shares of American rare earth firms plummeted. USA Rare Earth and MP Materials saw declines of 9% and 6%, respectively.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that there was “not much” doubt in his mind that interest rates would soon be lowered.

“I just think they’re going to be lowered. I mean, they should be lower," Trump told NBC News.

He emphasized that he would not have picked Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve if he wanted to raise rates.