Daily Market Report – February 4, 2026

Market report February 4, 2026, around 12:00 PM ET

International stock markets experienced a massive sell-off in software stocks yesterday. The Nasdaq is down another approximately 1.4% today. The trigger for the uncertainty was the concern that new AI features from Anthropic could put parts of the existing software value creation under pressure more quickly; in Europe, data and information service providers were among the biggest losers, while the broader market gained again.

The Fed chair nominee Kevin Warsh, appointed by Donald Trump, is facing resistance in the Senate; Democrats are calling for a delay in the process, reigniting the discussion about the independence of the central bank. In the bond market, the US refinancing package also came into focus: The Treasury is keeping auction sizes stable for now, but projections for future deficits caused the curve to steepen.

China remains an additional uncertainty factor—especially for the semiconductor supply chain. According to the Financial Times, the release of planned AI chip deliveries to China is stalled due to a security review in Washington; this is slowing down orders and delaying production plans in the supply chain.

AMD AMD and Novo Nordisk NVO significantly lost value after poor quarterly results. Amgen AMGN, a leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical company, however, rose over 8% today. Amgen primarily earns its money from drugs in the oncology, bone metabolism (including osteoporosis), cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases segments, and increasingly from respiratory therapies and biosimilars. In addition to exceeding quarterly expectations and a positive outlook, positive statements regarding the product pipeline, particularly in the area of obesity, provided tailwinds for investors.

AMD lost double digits, even though the company reported record figures for the fourth quarter (revenue $10.27 billion; adjusted EPS $1.53; data center $5.4 billion, +39%): The crucial factor was that the outlook for the first quarter at $9.8 billion (±$0.3 billion) implies a sequential decline and thus did not meet the very high expectations; there were also doubts about the competitive position against Nvidia and the indication that part of the momentum comes from China business. Alongside AMD, Micron MU, Lam Research LRCX, and Applied Materials AMAT as well as Amphenol APH also fell significantly in the wake of the sector rotation.

Novo Nordisk plummeted by around 16% after the company projected a currency-adjusted decline in revenue and operating profit of -5% to -13% for 2026—attributed to increased pricing pressure in the US, intensified competition, and effects related to pricing agreements and patent issues; for 2025, the company had reported revenue of 309.1 billion DKK and operating profit of 127.7 billion DKK.

Michael Burry, who became famous through the film "The Big Short," is likely pleased today with his short position in Palantir: Palantir PLTR and AppLovin APP fell by over 10% today. Extremely highly valued software, data analytics, and platform companies continue to face significant pressure.