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NASDAQ, S&P SLUMP AS SOFTWARE STOCKS DROP

U.S. stocks are lower nearing the midpoint of the trading session, with the Nasdaq .IXIC and S&P 500 .SPX taking the brunt of the selling pressure due to weakness in software names as AI is now seen as a competitive threat.

The S&P 500 software & services index .SPLRCIS is dropping nearly 4% and was on track for its fifth straight session of declines, weighed down by weakness in names such as Gartner IT.N, which plunged roughly 24% after the IT research firm forecast annual revenue and earnings below Wall Street expectations. Palantir PLTR.O was the sole component of the index in positive territory on the day following strong quarterly results.

The index is down nearly 13% over the five-session skid, which would mark its biggest five-session drop since March 2020.

Concerns about competition from AI also spread beyond software companies globally, affecting data analytics and advertising stocks. Britain's RELX REL.L tumbled about 15% and Wolters Kluwer WLSNc.AS of the Netherlands dropped more than 13%. Thomson Reuters TRI.TO, which owns the Westlaw legal database, is plummeting nearly 19% in Toronto and nearly 19% in U.S. trading TRI.O.

(Chuck Mikolajczak)

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