US stocks end mostly lower midweek

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US stocks ended mostly lower Wednesday, even though a nonfarm payroll employment report for January exceeded expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 0.13%, or 66.74 points, to close at 50,121.40.

The Nasdaq was down 0.16%, or 36.01 points, to 23,066.47, while the S&P 500 was virtually unchanged at 6,941.47.

The Volatility Index (VIX), also known as the "fear index,” fell 0.79% to 17.65 points.

The downturn followed the upbeat employment report. The US economy added 130,000 jobs in January, well above forecasts and up from 48,000 the previous month.

The unemployment rate fell to 4.3% last month from 4.4% in December.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the US should be paying the "lowest interest rate, by far," in the world as nonfarm payroll employment in the US exceeded expectations last month.

"GREAT JOBS NUMBERS, FAR GREATER THAN EXPECTED! The United States of America should be paying MUCH LESS on its Borrowings (BONDS!)," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Meanwhile, Wednesday saw further pressure on software equities, which were a major factor in last week's meltdown due to concerns about artificial intelligence disruption.

ServiceNow saw a 5.5% decline, while Salesforce saw a 4.3% decrease.

On the other hand, stocks that would profit from a faster economy and those engaged in the construction of AI data centers saw gains. Vertiv, a developer of digital infrastructure, saw a 25% increase in its share price following a positive 2026 outlook and a fourth-quarter profits beat.

On the data side, the US federal government's budget deficit reached $95 billion in January, marking a 26% decline year-on-year.

Tariff revenues totaled $124 billion in the first four months of fiscal year 2026, jumping over 300% year-on-year.