United States: Daily Stock Market Performance Insight - February 3, 2026

The U.S. equity markets experienced a volatile session on February 3, 2026, ending significantly lower as selling pressure in technology outweighed early gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.03%, while the Nasdaq Composite led the decline with a 2.20% drop. The S&P 500 finished down 1.5%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 plummeted 2.08%. Despite the broad retreat, specific large-cap names initially showed resilience before the wider sector sell-off took hold by the market close.

A sharp divergence defined the technology landscape today. Meta surged 8.8% and Apple gained 4.6% on robust iPhone 17 demand, but these gains were neutralized by disappointing results elsewhere. Microsoft slid 7.7% following underwhelming cloud growth figures, and IBM became the worst performer in the Dow with a decline of over 9%. The semiconductor space also struggled, evidenced by a 10% drop in NXP Semiconductors. Overall, the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF closed down 2.95%, influenced by weak semiconductor performance and Anthropic news, though Palantir managed a 5.68% gain on high volume of 89.26 million shares. In contrast, the Energy sector provided a silver lining, rising 2.09% as oil prices stabilized.

On the macroeconomic front, the nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Federal Reserve Chair introduced a hawkish sentiment, which paused the dollar rally and sparked a rebound in commodities. Gold jumped 5.5% to reach weekly highs of $4,948 per ounce, while silver soared 13% in London trading. Investors are also monitoring a looming government shutdown this Friday, though historical data provides a cushion, noting that the S&P 500 has posted positive returns in 12 of the last 22 shutdowns with an average 2.0% gain. Retail investors should watch for continued sector rotation, especially in healthcare where Davita Inc. surged 17.54%, and maintain caution in volatile small caps following Massimo crash of 59.65%. The focus remains on whether AI infrastructure investments, like Siemens Energy new 1 billion dollar U.S. grid expansion, can sustain long-term growth despite short-term earnings misses.