S&P 500 is little changed, giving up rally that followed a strong jobs report: Live

The S&P 500 was relatively unchanged on Wednesday after the better-than-expected delayed January jobs report failed to spark a sustainable advance.

The broad market index fell 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 120 points, or 0.2%.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ January nonfarm payrolls report — which had been delayed due to a partial government shutdown that ended on Feb. 3 — showed job growth of 130,000 last month. Economists polled by Dow Jones had called for a gain of 55,000. The latest figure also marked a sizable increase from December, which was downwardly revised to 48,000.

The unemployment rate also landed at 4.3%, a bit below the Dow Jones forecast for 4.4%. Treasury yields jumped on the heels of the report, which initially gave investors some optimism that the economy was on firm footing. At session highs, the Dow was up more than 300 points, or 0.6%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.7% and the Nasdaq jumped 0.9%. However, Federal Reserve interest rate cut odds were reduced, which could have lessened investor enthusiasm.

The jobs report eased the negative sentiment in the market that was driven by weaker-than-expected consumer data released on Tuesday. That report showed that consumer spending in December was flat, missing the 0.4% monthly gain expected from economists polled by Dow Jones.

“Traders were quite anxious about a significant miss and the better-than-expected data allows the bulls to resume the rally in search of new S&P 500 all-time highs,” said Jeff Kilburg, CEO of KKM Financial.

Shares of stocks that would benefit from an accelerating economy gained, as well as those involved in the buildout of artificial intelligence data centers. Shares of digital infrastructure provider Vertiv surged 22% after posting a fourth-quarter earnings beat and issuing a strong 2026 outlook. Others such as Caterpillar, GE Vernova and Eaton were all higher in the session as well, rising 3%, 4% and 5%, respectively.

The day’s moves come after the broad-based S&P 500 suffered losses Tuesday as worries over AI’s impact on the financial sector weighed on the index. After tech platform Altruist launched a new AI-powered tax planning tool, several financial services firms’ stocks fell. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also posted a losing session, while the 30-stock Dow notched another all-time high and closing record.

Beyond the jobs report, other economic data that could steer markets will be released this week. The consumer price index, a key economic indicator that acts as a gauge for inflation, is expected to come out on Friday.