Stock Market Update Tuesday February 3, 2026
- Feb 3
- 3 min read
Stock Market Update Tuesday February 3, 2026 U.S. equities finished lower on the session, with Technology once again leading the downside. Software remained a notable drag, while semiconductors also came under pressure, with NVDA notably weak. Crypto-exposed equities saw significant downside as Bitcoin briefly slipped to ~$73K intraday, weighing heavily on names such as HOOD, COIN, and MSTR. That said, risk sentiment stabilized late in the session, with the S&P 500 clawing back more than 50 points from its intraday lows into the close. From a sector perspective, defensives and cyclicals outperformed: Consumer Staples, Industrials, and Materials all finished higher. In contrast, the Mag 7+ complex saw broad-based selling, particularly in NVDA and AVGO. MSFT continued to drift lower following its post-earnings selloff, while AAPL proved relatively resilient. Small caps continued to show relative strength, with IWM higher on the day, standing in sharp contrast to the drawdown in the QQQs. After-hours action was mixed: AMD traded ~3% lower, CMG fell roughly 8%, while ENPH surged 6%.
Score Board
S&P 500 declined - 0.8%
QQQ fell - 1.6%
Russell 2000 gained 0.3%
Away From Stocks: Treasury yields were little changed across most of the curve, extending the unusually subdued rate environment. WTI crude rebounded above $64 per barrel, while gold surged nearly 7%, approaching the $5,000/oz level. Bitcoin rebounded sharply toward $77K after its first sub-$73K print in roughly 15 months. Volatility eased by the close, with the VIX settling near 18 after briefly pushing above 20 intraday.
Our investment approach is disciplined and long-only. We do not engage in short selling. In our long-term portfolio, we focus exclusively on high-quality companies with a demonstrated history of operational excellence and consistent shareholder value creation. However, in our short-term speculative portfolio, some stocks we post may be driven by other factors, such as notable options flow, proprietary algorithms and seasonality. We rely on our proprietary algorithms to identify high-probability entry points, whether to initiate new positions or to strategically add to existing holdings.
Want to read more?
Subscribe to algotradealert.com to keep reading this exclusive post.