Both the S&P 500 (SPX) and the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) are trading lower on Wednesday as investors continue to sell off tech and software stocks while digesting a weaker-than-expected jobs report from ADP.
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Software stocks have sold off on fears that AI will intensify competition in the industry and dampen growth and margins, while Advanced Micro Devices’ (AMD) earnings have put pressure on semiconductor names. In addition, the Financial Times reported that shipments of Nvidia’s (NVDA) H200 chips to China have been put on hold pending a U.S. national security review. Tech stocks carry the largest weight in the S&P 500, accounting for roughly one-third of the index.
Weak Payrolls Data Adds to Investor Anxiety
Meanwhile, ADP announced that the U.S. added 22,000 private payrolls in January, missing the consensus estimate of 45,000 and falling from 41,000 in December. In 2025, the U.S. added a total of 398,000 jobs, down from 771,000 in 2024.
“While we’ve seen a continuous and dramatic slowdown in job creation for the past three years, wage growth has remained stable,” said ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson. During the month, the median annual pay for job stayers grew by 4.5% year-over-year to $61,800, while the annualized pay growth for job changers dropped to 6.4% from 6.6%.