Monthly US jobs data due on Friday, March 6
Broadcom, retailers report as Q4 results season winds down
Investors on guard for AI developments that could shake shares
(Repeats story published Friday with no changes to text)
By Lewis Krauskopf
NEW YORK, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Prospects for artificial intelligence to disrupt business sectors should keep the U.S. stock market on edge in the coming week, as Wall Street looks for more insight into how the emerging technology will reverberate through the economy. The monthly U.S. jobs report headlines economic data due next week, while major semiconductor player Broadcom (AVGO.O) is among the remaining reports that will close out the fourth-quarter earnings season.
The disruptive potential of AI has consumed investors in recent weeks, with shares in industries such as software, wealth management and real estate services pummeled by concerns about business upheaval.
“There continues to be this … back and forth about who might be the victim and those that will actually emerge winners because they are harnessing AI as opposed to being replaced by it,” said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group.
“There is very little definitive right now about that, and so I think that will continue to be a concern.”
Stock prices in areas such as software remain acutely sensitive to AI-related developments. AI bellwether Nvidia’s (NVDA.O) highly anticipated quarterly report failed to calm nerves, with the semiconductor giant’s shares falling over 5% on Thursday and weighing on the technology sector. Investors are concerned about whether Nvidia’s “hyperscaler” customers will garner sufficient returns to justify their massive spending on data centers and other infrastructure. Despite the tech sector’s struggles, gains this year in other areas such as industrials and consumer staples have helped support major equity indexes.
Weakness in tech and financial shares dragged on major averages on Friday, with the S&amp;P 500 (.SPX) and Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) in February both posting their biggest monthly percentage declines in about a year.
The benchmark S&amp;P 500 was up 0.5% so far in 2026 as of Friday.
“The U.S. equity market is sort of in its late cycle, trying to find the winners and losers of this new disruptive technology and pretty much treading water,” said John Velis, Americas macro strategist at BNY.
<h3>WILL FEBRUARY JOBS BACK JANUARY’S STRENGTH?</h3>
The U.S. jobs report for February, due on March 6, is expected to show an increase of 60,000 jobs, according to a Reuters poll. It comes after January’s surprisingly robust report, with an increase of 130,000 jobs and the unemployment rate falling to 4.3%.
The January report allayed worries about a weakening labor market, but “the concern is that January is a one-off,” said Paul Nolte, senior wealth adviser and market strategist at Murphy &amp; Sylvest Wealth Management.
“We saw a good January jobs report, but we also have seen a really weak 2025 for the job market,” Hooper said. “And so the question becomes, where do we go from here?”
Investors will also seek clues from the report about when the Federal Reserve may next cut interest rates. Fed funds futures suggest the next reduction will come in June or July, after Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends in May and his nominated replacement Kevin Warsh could be in charge.
The Fed cut rates last year in the face of a weakening employment backdrop but paused the easing cycle in January, and solid jobs data could prompt investors to push back their expectations for further cuts. Investors generally associate lower interest rates with higher prices for stocks and other assets.
BNY’s Velis said the market’s reaction to the jobs data will be telling for which factors are prominent for equity investors. For example, strong data followed by weak stock performance is “going to be a sign that the rate argument is important,” Velis said.
<h3>RETAIL SALES, BROADCOM EARNINGS ALSO UP NEXT</h3>
Other economic releases due in the coming week include reports on manufacturing and services sector activity. The retail sales report for January is expected on March 6.
Aside from Broadcom’s quarterly report on Wednesday, results are expected from retailers Best Buy (BBY.N) and Target (TGT.N) .
Wall Street is eager for any evidence of AI’s impact on the economy, both positive and negative. In an interview with Reuters this week, outgoing Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said the U.S. may be entering a period of structurally higher unemployment as firms deploy AI tools to save labor. “Major technological shifts provoke both excitement and anxiety,” Keith Lerner, chief investment officer at Truist Advisory Services, said in a research note on Thursday. “More recently… optimism has begun to give way to heightened anxiety and increasingly bleak narratives about AI’s impact on work, productivity, and economic outcomes.”
Software struggles
<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-STOCKS/WEEKAHEAD/zjvqmkkmqvx/chart.png?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" alt="" width="1420" height="934" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.reuters.com/graphics/USA-STOCKS/WEEKAHEAD/zjvqmkkmqvx/chart.png"/>

QQEW

The U.S. stock market is on edge as investors anticipate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on various sectors, with the monthly jobs report due on March 6. Major semiconductor company Broadcom will report earnings, while concerns about AI's disruptive potential have affected stock prices in tech and financial sectors. The February jobs report is expected to show a modest increase of 60,000 jobs, following a strong January. Investors are also looking for clues on potential interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve, with upcoming retail sales and manufacturing data to be released.

- The U.S. stock market remains cautious as investors anticipate February's jobs report and insights on artificial intelligence's impact on various sectors.  
- While Broadcom and major retailers report their earnings, concerns about AI disrupting industries like software and real estate weigh heavily on the market.  
- The jobs report, expected to show an increase of 60,000 jobs, could influence Federal Reserve decisions on interest rate cuts, with strong data potentially dampening stock performance amid heightened anxieties about AI.

Wall St Week Ahead-AI disruption looms over markets with US jobs data on tap