US open: Stocks lower as investors thumb over January's NFP figures

(Sharecast News) - Major indices were in the red early on Wednesday as investors digested the Bureau of Labor Statistics' all-important January non-farm jobs report.

As of 1515 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.34% at 50,018.27, while the S&P 500 shed 0.29% to 6,921.93, and the Nasdaq Composite came out of the gate 0.59% softer at 22,965.68.

The Dow opened 169.87 points lower on Wednesday, more than erasing gains recorded in the previous session as investors assessed a raft of corporate earnings and economic data.

Wednesday's primary focus was the Bureau of Labor Statistics' delayed January non-farm payrolls report, which revealed private sector employers added 130,000 jobs in January 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, much higher than December's downwardly revised 48,000 increase and well above consensus estimates of 55,000.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said job gains were seen across the health care, social assistance and construction sectors, while, in contrast, the federal government shed 34,000 jobs as federal employees who accepted a deferred resignation offer in 2025 came off federal payrolls, and the financial activities sector saw payrolls drop by 22,000. On an annualised basis, total non-farm employment growth was revised down to 181,000 for 2025, down from 584,000, implying average monthly job gains of just 15,000, well below the 49,000 previously reported by the BLS.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate edged down from 4.4% to 4.3%, beating forecasts for no change, while average hourly earnings rose 0.4% month-on-month, above the 0.3% consensus estimate, with annual wage growth holding steady at 3.7% year-on-year.

Elsewhere on the macro front, mortgage applications fell 0.3% in the week ended 6 February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, with applications to purchase a home dropped 2.4%, while applications to refinance a mortgage, which are more sensitive to week-to-week interest rate changes, increased by 1.1%.

In the corporate space, Shopify said total revenue rose 31% to $3.67bn in the three months ended 31 December, with the group now expecting firstquarter revenues to come in ahead of market forecasts, supported by continued strong demand across its platform, while Kraft-Heinz posted better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings but provided disappointing guidance for FY26, including a planned $600m investment to revitalise growth, and T-Mobile posted an 11.3% year-on-year increase in Q4 revenues to $24.3bn but said net income had fallen 29.5% to $2.1bn.

Stil to come, Cisco Systems was scheduled to post its latest quarterly figures after the close.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com

Dow Jones - Risers

Apple Inc. (AAPL) $276.26 0.75%

Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $159.70 0.00%

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) $33.66 0.00%

Dow Jones - Fallers

Intel Corp. (INTC) $48.53 -2.46%

Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $366.42 -2.19%

Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $86.30 -1.22%

S&P 500 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $396.63 6.20%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $227.84 4.66%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $235.56 4.58%

Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $332.50 3.79%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $337.23 3.50%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $244.15 3.34%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,472.02 3.23%

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $32.51 2.77%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $232.31 2.67%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $246.45 2.40%

S&P 500 - Fallers

Mattel Inc. (MAT) $15.34 -30.51%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $404.02 -7.83%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $98.51 -5.28%

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $256.26 -4.88%

TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIP) $12.40 -4.76%

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $233.08 -4.68%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $167.68 -4.40%

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $202.23 -4.29%

Northern Trust Corp. (NTRS) $149.07 -3.88%

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (WTW) $283.06 -3.74%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers

Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $396.63 6.20%

Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $227.84 4.66%

Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $235.56 4.58%

Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) $332.50 3.79%

Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $337.23 3.50%

Expedia Group Inc. (EXPE) $244.15 3.34%

KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $1,472.02 3.23%

Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $32.51 2.77%

J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. (JBHT) $232.31 2.67%

Charter Communications Inc. (CHTR) $246.45 2.40%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers

Qvc Group Inc Series A (QVCGA) $3.27 -69.23%

Intuit Inc. (INTU) $404.02 -7.83%

Incyte Corp. (INCY) $98.51 -5.28%

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) $256.26 -4.88%

Autodesk Inc. (ADSK) $233.08 -4.68%

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) $147.12 -4.66%

Verisk Analytics Inc. (VRSK) $167.68 -4.40%

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (TTWO) $202.23 -4.29%

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) $80.73 -3.50%

Biogen Inc (BIIB) $189.42 -3.22%