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Happy Thursday. Taco Bell’s parent company reported strong same-store sales growth for the chain yesterday, which makes me wonder how much my Crunchwrap Supreme order contributed.
Stock futures are falling this morning. of S&P500 I saw a losing session yesterday as well.
Here are five important things investors need to know to start their trading day.
1. Hard reset
Piotr Swat | SOPA Images | Light Rocket | Getty Images
Pressure on software stocks has intensified in recent days. Industry executives are urging investors not to panic, but Wall Street appears unconvinced that the sector will continue to grow as artificial intelligence moves further into corporate business.
Here’s what you need to know:
2. Splurge
The Google logo appears on the Google headquarters building in Mountain View, California, on February 4, 2026.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
alphabet Yesterday, both areas beat Wall Street’s fourth-quarter expectations. Google’s parent company’s cloud business reported a better-than-expected quarterly report, but YouTube’s ad totals fell short of expectations.
Alphabet also announced that this year’s capital investment spending could be more than double the 2025 total as the California-based company focuses on building out its AI infrastructure. But Wall Street didn’t seem to buy it, with the stock dropping more than 4% in pre-market trading this morning.
Meanwhile, after Google announced bold AI spending plans, companies that supply AI products to Google soared. broadcomwhich helps Google create tensor processing units that run its AI software, rose as much as 6% in after-hours trading.
3. Work (Wednesday) day
A “Now Hiring” sign hangs in the window of a business in Manhattan, New York City, on January 9, 2026.
Spencer Pratt | Getty Images
The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that it will release its December Job Openings and Turnover Survey at 10 a.m. Eastern Time today, two days after the scheduled release date. The brief federal government shutdown delayed the release of the data.
Looking ahead, the all-important January non-farm payrolls release has been postponed to next Wednesday rather than tomorrow. Data on consumer prices and revenues will also be postponed, the BLS said.
Other labor data this week bodes poorly for future employment numbers. ADP announced yesterday that private companies added fewer jobs in January than economists expected. This morning, Challenger, Gray and Christmas reported that January’s layoffs were the highest since 2009 and jumped more than 200% from December.
4. Negotiation table
Oil prices rose more than 1.5% in Asian trade on Thursday as concerns grew that a U.S. military strike against Iran could disrupt supplies from the region.
Anton Petrus | Moments | Getty Images
President Donald Trump said in an interview yesterday that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei should be “very concerned.” The comments came as President Trump has threatened to attack the country unless it agrees to a deal governing its nuclear program. “They’re negotiating with us,” Trump told NBC News.
Oil prices soared in response to President Trump’s comments, with U.S. crude oil and global benchmark Brent crude each rising more than 3% yesterday. But oil prices fell overnight as traders looked ahead to talks between the US and Iranian governments scheduled for Friday.
As CNBC’s Li Yingshan reports, Iran wants to focus talks on its nuclear conflict with the West, while the United States also wants to discuss Iran’s ballistic missile program and human rights record.
5. Participation trophy
Rainbow flags celebrate Pride Month in New York.
Lev Radin | Pacific Press | Light Rocket | Getty Images
For more than a year, conservative activist Robbie Starbuck has been pressuring companies to rescind the 20-year-old Corporate Equality Index, which assesses how companies treat LGBTQ+ employees. New data from the index operator released yesterday shows the impact of the anti-DEI movement.
The Human Rights Campaign reported a 65% decrease in Fortune 500 companies participating in the 2026 CEI Index compared to last year. The number of participating Fortune 500 companies has fallen from nearly 380 to just over 130.
As CNBC’s Raya Neelakandan reported, HRC said many of the companies it discontinued had federal contracts. Meanwhile, the group said more than 500 of the 1,450 companies that participated achieved top scores.
daily dividend
electric car manufacturers Rivian is looking to its next R2 vehicle to restore profitability. CEO RJ Scaringe gave CNBC’s Robert Ferris an early look at the car.
CNBC’s Jordan Novett, Seema Modi, Lisa Han, Arjun Karpal, Samantha Subin, Kif Leswing, Sean Conlon, Sarah Ming, Jennifer Elias, Spencer Kimball, Li Yingshan, Jeff Cox, Raya Neelakandan and Robert Ferris contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this version.
