US stocks wobble after feeling both the upside and downside of a strong
jobs report
[February 12, 2026] By
STAN CHOE
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks felt both the upside and downside Wednesday
of a surprisingly strong report that said the nation’s unemployment rate
improved last month.
After initially rising toward an all-time high, the S&P 500 flipped
between gains and losses before finishing with a minuscule dip of less
than 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 66 points, or 0.1%,
and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%. Both also erased early gains.
Treasury yields, meanwhile, remained higher in the bond market after the
Labor Department said U.S. employers added 130,000 jobs to their
payrolls last month, more than economists expected. That helped calm
worries from a day earlier, when a discouraging report suggested
spending by U.S. households, the main engine of the economy, may be
stalling.
On one hand, the strong data on jobs raises hopes that the U.S. economy
can remain solid and keep driving big profits for companies. Stocks in
the energy and raw-material industries jumped to some of the bigger
gains in the S&P 500, for example, and their profits tend to be closely
tied to the health of the economy.
Exxon Mobil climbed 2.6%. Smurfit Westrock jumped 9.9% even though the
packaging company reported a weaker profit for the latest quarter than
analysts expected. It gave financial targets for the next five years
that some analysts found encouraging.
But on the other hand for the broad stock market, the
stronger-than-expected jobs data could also keep the Federal Reserve on
hold when it comes to cuts to interest rates. And higher rates can drag
on prices for stocks and all kinds of other investments.
After Wednesday’s report showed the tick down for the U.S. unemployment
rate, traders pushed back their bets for when the Fed could begin
cutting interest rates again, according to data from CME Group. The bets
slid further into the summer, after a new Fed chair is set to take the
helm.
If Wednesday’s jobs report had shown a rise in the unemployment rate or
other worsening for the job market, that could have pushed the Fed to
resume its cuts more quickly.
Lower rates would give the economy and financial markets a boost, though
at the cost of potentially worsening inflation. The next monthly update
on inflation at the U.S. consumer level is arriving on Friday, and it
will likely be another big influence on the Fed’s plans.
After the jobs report, the yield on the 10-year Treasury edged up to
4.17% from 4.16% late Tuesday. The two-year Treasury yield, which moves
more closely with expectations for Fed moves, climbed more. It rose to
3.51% from 3.45%.
[to top of second column] |
AGI Inc Founder, Executive Chairman & CEO Marciano Testa rings a
ceremonial bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as his
company's IPO begins trading, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP
Photo/Richard Drew)
 To be sure, all is still not
perfectly clear for the U.S. economy. Wednesday’s report included
major revisions, which said employers added just 181,000 jobs for
all of last year. That’s less than a third of the previously
reported 584,000, and it’s the weakest showing for a year since
2020, when COVID-19 shut down the economy.
The overall jobs report nevertheless looked to be an encouraging
signal for the economy.
“We all knew there would be downward revisions, but these were
better than expected,” Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at
Annex Wealth Management, said of the markdowns for 2025.
On Wall Street, Robinhood Markets fell 8.8% even though the trading
and investment app reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter
than analysts expected. Its revenue fell short of forecasts, and
analysts highlighted Robinhood’s forecast for expenses in 2026,
along with concerns about how long a slowdown in crypto trading will
last.
Crypto prices have plunged recently, and bitcoin’s price fell toward
$67,000 Wednesday. It’s lost close to half its value since setting a
record in October.
Moderna dropped 3.5% after saying the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration is refusing to consider its application for a new flu
vaccine made with Nobel Prize-winning mRNA technology. It’s the
latest sign of the FDA’s heightened scrutiny of vaccines under
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kraft Heinz recovered from an early loss and added 0.4% after CEO
Steve Cahillane said he’s pausing the company’s planned split into
two businesses as he tries to return it to profitable growth. He
also announced a $600 million investment across marketing, sales and
research and development.
All told, the S&P 500 edged down by 0.34 to 6,941.47 points. The Dow
Jones Industrial Average dipped 66.74 to 50,121.40, and the Nasdaq
composite fell 36.01 to 23,066.47.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe following a
better showing in Asia.
The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 gained 1.1%, and South Korea’s Kospi
rose 1% for two of the bigger moves.
___
AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.
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