Benzinga·2026-01-30 08:09Market Sentiment - The CNN Money Fear and Greed index showed a decline in overall market sentiment, remaining in the "Greed" zone with a current reading of 61.7, down from 64 [1][5]. Stock Performance - U.S. stocks settled mixed, with the Nasdaq Composite falling more than 150 points during the session. The Dow Jones closed higher by around 56 points to 49,071.56, while the S&P 500 fell 0.13% to 6,969.01 and the Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.72% to 23,685.12 [1][4]. Company-Specific Developments - Microsoft Corp. shares fell almost 10%, marking its worst session since March 2020, due to reported slowing cloud growth [2]. - ServiceNow Inc. shares tumbled 10% despite reporting upbeat earnings and revenue for the fourth quarter [2]. Economic Data - U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 1,000 to 209,000, compared to market estimates of 205,000 [3]. - The trade deficit rose sharply to $56.8 billion in November from a $29.2 billion gap in the previous month [3]. - U.S. wholesale inventories increased by 0.2% to $915 billion in November, maintaining the same pace as the previous month [3]. - U.S. factory orders climbed by 2.7% from the previous month to $621.6 billion in November [3]. Sector Performance - Most sectors on the S&P 500 closed positively, with real estate, communication services, and financial stocks recording the biggest gains. However, consumer discretionary and information technology stocks closed lower [4].