Stock Market Update: Nasdaq, Dow, and S&P 500 Futures Climb Before Powell's Address at Jackson Hole—EpicQuest, Zoom, and Azitra Stocks Highlighted
U.S. Stock Futures Rise: Following declines on Thursday, U.S. stock futures increased, with major indices showing positive movement ahead of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium.
Economic Indicators: Initial jobless claims rose to 235,000, while existing home sales increased by 2% in July. The S&P Global services PMI fell to 55.4, and manufacturing PMI rose to 53.3.
Market Reactions: Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed negatively, with notable losses in consumer discretionary and utilities. Walmart's shares dropped 4.5% after mixed quarterly results, while energy stocks performed better.
Fed's Future Actions: Analysts anticipate Powell's speech may clarify the Fed's stance on inflation and interest rates, with markets pricing a high likelihood of rate cuts in September. Wells Fargo suggests potential adjustments in investment strategies amid rising inflation and slowing growth.
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- Market Reaction: Following the launch of Anthropic's Claude Cowork and its industry-specific plugins, the market experienced panic, with stocks of Salesforce, Intuit, and Atlassian dropping by 27.9%, 33%, and 41.6% respectively, reflecting investor fears that AI tools could replace traditional SaaS platforms.
- Alphabet's Stock Decline: Alphabet's shares fell over 6% in the week after the Claude Cowork announcement, raising concerns among investors about its competitive position in AI, despite not directly offering industry-specific software, which affected market confidence.
- Competitive Pressure from Gemini 3: Google's Gemini 3 LLM update launched in November significantly enhanced its AI capabilities, attracting a surge of paid subscribers, leading investors to worry that Claude Cowork might further poach these users, increasing market uncertainty.
- Investor Buying Opportunity: Despite market volatility, renowned investors like Warren Buffett and Cathie Wood actively increased their stakes in Alphabet during the stock's decline, investing $21.6 million and $15 million respectively, indicating confidence in Alphabet's long-term value and potentially providing a buying opportunity for other investors.
- Stock Price Decline: Alphabet's shares fell over 6% following the launch of Claude Cowork, which, while not directly impacting Google's core business, raised concerns about competition with Google's Gemini 3 AI tool, leading to negative investor sentiment.
- Investor Activity: Notable investor Cathie Wood took advantage of the dip by purchasing $21.6 million in Alphabet shares through her Ark Invest funds on February 5, indicating confidence in the company's future potential despite current market challenges.
- Industry Impact: The rollout of Claude Cowork negatively affected several business software companies, with Salesforce, Intuit, and Atlassian experiencing stock declines of 27.9%, 33%, and 41.6%, respectively, reflecting market fears that AI tools could replace traditional SaaS platforms.
- Competitive Pressure: Despite Google's advancements with Gemini 3 in the AI space, investors remain concerned that Claude Cowork could lure away paid subscribers from Gemini, potentially undermining Google's competitive position in the AI market.
- Tech Stock Pullback: The three major U.S. stock averages declined this week due to fears surrounding rapid AI developments, with software giants like Netflix and Fox dropping 6.5% and 11.6% respectively, indicating market concerns over the profitability of streaming platforms.
- Oversold Status: According to CNBC Pro, Fox Class A shares have a 14-day RSI of nearly 18.6, while Netflix's RSI is about 24, suggesting these stocks are technically oversold and may rebound in the near term.
- DoorDash Performance: DoorDash shares, with an RSI of 16.45, fell over 12% this week; however, Bank of America reiterated its buy rating, suggesting that a strong first-quarter outlook could serve as a clearing event, reflecting confidence in its future performance.
- Overbought Real Estate Stocks: Equinix and Texas Pacific Land are considered overbought with RSI levels around 85 and 82, respectively, with Equinix rising 12.7% this week after providing strong first-quarter guidance and increasing its dividend for the 11th consecutive year, highlighting robust demand for data centers.
- Market Recovery: The S&P 500 index rose by 0.05%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average by 0.10%, and the Nasdaq 100 by 0.18% on Friday, indicating a recovery after early losses, reflecting cautious optimism among investors regarding future economic prospects.
- Inflation Data Impact: The U.S. January Consumer Price Index rose by 2.4% year-over-year, below the expected 2.5%, marking the smallest increase in seven months, which may prompt the Fed to continue cutting rates, thus providing support for the stock market and alleviating concerns over rate hikes.
- Strong Software Stock Performance: Software stocks like Crowdstrike Holdings and ServiceNow rose over 4% and 3%, respectively, lifting the broader market and indicating a rebound in investor confidence in tech stocks, particularly amid rapid advancements in AI technology.
- Metal Stocks Retreat: Reports of the Trump administration's plans to narrow tariffs on steel and aluminum products led to declines in metal companies, with Century Aluminum falling over 7%, reflecting the negative impact of policy changes on the sector.
- Volume Analysis: Morgan Stanley's options trading volume reached 36,058 contracts today, equivalent to approximately 3.6 million shares, representing 40.9% of its average daily trading volume of 8.8 million shares over the past month.
- High-Frequency Options: Notably, the $160 strike put option expiring on February 20, 2026, saw a trading volume of 10,547 contracts today, representing about 1.1 million shares, indicating market interest in this price range.
- Intuit Inc Dynamics: Concurrently, Intuit Inc's options trading volume stood at 16,855 contracts, approximately 1.7 million shares, accounting for 40.5% of its average daily trading volume of 4.2 million shares over the past month.
- Market Trends: The $490 strike put option also attracted attention with a trading volume of 5,307 contracts today, representing around 530,700 shares, reflecting investors' expectations for future market volatility.

Market Trends: There has been a significant selloff in software stocks, particularly affecting software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies.
Cultural References: Various playful terms have emerged to describe the situation, such as "SaaSpocalypse," highlighting the dramatic nature of the declines.
Timing of Declines: The downturn in software stocks began in January, indicating that the issues are not solely recent developments.
Naming Challenges: Attempts to create catchy phrases to describe the selloff, like "Valentine’s Day SaaSsacre" and "SaaSquatch," have faced challenges in relevance and accuracy.







