CNBC Business News Update - Market Midday: Stocks Lower, Slight Market Recovery from Earlier Lows, Fewest Job Openings In December In 5 years 2/5/26

Episode Date: February 5, 2026

From Wall Street to Main Street, the latest on the markets and what it means for your money. Updated regularly on weekdays, featuring CNBC expert analysis and sound from top business newsmakers. Anchored and reported by CNBC's Jessica Ettinger. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I'm Jessica Eddinger, CNBC. Wall Street trying to recover from a big slide this morning. Gold and silver slipping. Bitcoin was sliding, dropping below 70,000. The Dow had been down more than 600 points, and it's down just 380 in the lunch hour on Wall Street. That's 3 quarters percent. Amazon shares leading it lower. They're down 3.5%. The S&P 500 index down 52 points. The NASDAQ down 183. points. Shares of NVIDIA have turned higher. They're back in the green now, up a half a percent.

It's been a volatile day of trading already. The fewest number of job openings in the U.S. in December in five years as the labor market continues to weaken. The Labor Department out today with the Joltz report on job opportunity and labor

turnover. Big miss. 6.5 million. We were looking for 7.2 million. Prior 7.1. that's a huge drop in the number of job openings for December. That's CNBC's Carl Kintanilla. Add that today to a pop in the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week, the most in two months at $231,000, plus announced job cuts hit a 17-year high last month.

Outplacement firm Challenger Gray. And Christmas also said January saw the lowest January hiring since 2009, too. Challenger layoffs, they were a challenge. number here, 108,000. That was the worst January since 2009, UPS and Amazon, among those with the big layoff announcements. CNBC senior economics reporter Steve Leesman. Google parent alphabet reported better than expected quarterly results after the closing bell last night, but it also said it's increasing AI spending and some investors were spooked by that. This was a remarkable quirk. Don't pay any attention to the man behind the curtain. The fact is that they are

using this new compute for Google Cloud. Okay, and Philip Schindler did an amazing job with YouTube. The Gemini uptake is just rather incredible. I just was dazzled by this call. The analysts have to start catching up with how well they're doing. CNBC Mad Money host Jim Kramer. The number of Americans searching the term cash advance on Google is up more than 50% in the past month than the same time last year.

CNBC's Google trends. Analysis could point to more consumers becoming cash-strapped, looking for ways to buy short-term financial breathing room. Some people turn to credit cards, others turn to cash advance apps. The 15th annual NFL honors awards show is tonight in San Francisco as Super Bowl Week continues. Jessica Eddinger, CNBC. Tuesday, February 10th, join CNDC's first ever digital finance forum. Unlocking opportunities in the new blockchain economy. Request your invited CNBC events.

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