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Stocks Close Mixed on Tech Rout, Alphabet Down on CapEx Forecast, More
04 Feb 2026
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Chapter 1: What factors contribute to the UK's unique business environment?
The UK stands apart as a place to do business, not because of one advantage, but many working together. Over 10 trillion pounds in capital, four of the world's top universities, a 10-year industrial strategy in action, its stability with dynamism, global reach with local depth. It all adds up to greater growth. Find out more at business.gov.uk slash growth.
News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Amy Morris. And there's your closing bill for this Wednesday on Wall Street where tech giants tumbled in a momentum trade unwind. Traders looked for broader firms more in tune with growth prospects. And we check those closing numbers for you each day here at Bloomberg.
The S&P 500 lost 34 points, NASDAQ lost 346 points, and the Dow gained 259 points. The 10-year Treasury yield at 4.27% and the 2-year yield at 3.55%. And checking oil, it jumped on word that there may be a snag in nuclear talks with Iran. We're going to get to that in just a minute. But oil right now is a little less than 2% higher.
Alphabet shares are down more than 7% in the post market after saying it would spend far more than planned for this year, shocking investors on the cost of the artificial intelligence boom. Qualcomm reported first quarter earnings that beat, but the company's second quarter forecast missed. Shares of Qualcomm now down nearly 9% in the post market.
And we're learning that talks with Iran may be in trouble. Axios reporting the U.S. won't agree to Iran's demands that talks be moved to Oman and focus only on nuclear issues. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says any arms deal also needs to include China.
The president's been clear in the past that in order to have true arms control in the 21st century, it's impossible to do something that doesn't include China because of their vast and rapidly growing stockpile. Heather Conley is non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and says all of this keeps changing. On Monday, we thought we had talks in Istanbul.
On Tuesday, the Iranians said, nope, we're going to move those to Amman and talk only about nuclear issues. And today we were told the U.S. said, nope, we're not going to do that. And Special Envoy Witkoff and Mr. Kushner may be coming back home after a meeting in Qatar. So stay tuned. I think I think this is still moving around.
AEI senior fellow Heather Conley on balance of power with Joe Matthew. President Trump said in an interview with NBC that Iran's supreme leader, quote, should be very worried. Iran's foreign minister says his country will hold nuclear talks with the U.S. in Oman on Friday.
President Trump also spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping today in a lengthy phone call that includes talks about trade and geopolitical flashpoints, including Taiwan.
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Chapter 2: How did tech stocks perform in the latest market close?
China says it has no intention of stepping away from its long-term plans of reunification with Taiwan. Trump is scheduled to visit Beijing in April. The Supreme Court has cleared California to use its new congressional map that favors Democrats during this year's midterm election.
The justices denied a request from the California Republican Party and the Department of Justice to prevent the state from using its new voter-approved map on the grounds it was racially gerrymandered. California leaders have maintained that this new map was drawn purely to counteract the Republican redistricting in Texas.
The Department of Homeland Security will immediately reduce its enforcement presence in Minneapolis by 700 agents. Trump administration border czar Tom Holman says they'll refocus their efforts on more targeted immigration operations at local jails. It's safer for the community, safer for the officers, and safer for the aliens.
Arresting a public safety threat in the safety and security of a jail is the safest thing we could do. About 2,000 federal immigration agents will stay in Minnesota. The drawdown follows weeks of uproar over tactics in Minnesota after immigration agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens.
Treasury Secretary Scott Besant today warned lawmakers that excessive regulation could lead to stagnation in the economy. Too often in the past, we've seen regulation by reflex. Rather than preempting crises, regulators have frequently reacted to them after the fact.
Besant declined to express a view on whether President Trump has the authority to fire a member of the Federal Reserve Board over a policy disagreement. Fulton County, Georgia, has filed a motion in federal court seeking the return of all documents from the 2020 election that were seized by the FBI. That's about 700 boxes of election files.
County Chairman Rob Pitt believes his county is a test case for other actions across the country ahead of this year's midterms and the 2028 elections. Earlier this week, President Trump called for Republicans to, quote, take over and nationalize elections. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its January employment report on February 11th. That's next Wednesday.
The CPI report comes out just a couple of days later on the 13th. That's next Friday. And JOLTS data is expected tomorrow. The delay was caused by the brief partial shutdown of the federal government. So for now, we'll rely on the ADP report, which shows U.S. companies added fewer jobs than expected in January, pointing to a continued slowdown in the labor market.
The man convicted of trying to assassinate President Trump on a Florida golf course in 2024 has been sentenced to life in prison. Prosecutors had asked for life without parole. They say the man is unrepentant and has never apologized. President Trump says he'll commit more federal resources to finding 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie if needed.
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Chapter 3: What impact did Alphabet's CapEx forecast have on its stock price?
I'm Amy Morris. This is Bloomberg. As a place to do business, the UK stands apart. Not because of a single advantage, but a uniquely powerful combination of many. As one of the world's leading financial centres, the UK puts over Ā£10 trillion to work every day, fuelling innovation across every sector.
Home to four of the world's top universities, it provides exceptional talent and breakthrough research. This sits alongside a clear 10-year industrial strategy, unlocking smarter regulation and making it faster and easier to operate. Stability with dynamism. Global connectivity with local depth. It all adds up to greater growth. Visit business.gov.uk slash growth.