New York, Feb 8, 2026, 13:36 EST — The market has closed.
- Cloud-centric ETFs snapped back on Friday, climbing between 2% and 4% as tech stocks regained their footing following a tough run for software shares.
- Amazon slipped as investors zeroed in on the company’s plans to ramp up AI infrastructure spending, with returns and margins in the spotlight.
- Cloud stocks in the high-growth camp could take a knock, with U.S. jobs and inflation numbers due later this week poised to shake up rate expectations.
Cloud computing names wrapped up Friday in the green, with key cloud ETFs notching gains—First Trust Cloud Computing ETF up 4.4%, WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund ahead 3.5%, and Global X Cloud Computing ETF climbing 2.2%. Amazon, though, dropped 5.6% as investors balked at the mounting price tag of its AI buildout. Snowflake soared 7.5%, while Microsoft edged up 1.8%.
Why now? Cloud stocks are caught in a tug-of-war. On one hand, investors are chasing the data-center boom. On the other, they’re weighing the cost of all that capital—what it means for margins—and wondering just how fast AI tools could start chipping away at pricing muscle in some corners of enterprise software.
It isn’t just the sector feeling the hit. Because cloud and software stocks are woven into the major U.S. tech indexes, big moves here often ripple through to the broader benchmarks and can shake up risk appetite—especially with investors already edgy over interest-rate bets.
Amazon’s $200 billion capital spending plan for 2026—covering investments in data centers and chips—has turned into a battleground over AI infrastructure, with major U.S. tech firms collectively targeting more than $630 billion, according to Reuters. MoffettNathanson flagged Amazon’s jump as “materially greater than consensus expected.” CEO Andy Jassy, meanwhile, has stood by AWS’s 24% revenue gain, even as Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure logged faster growth. Since Jan. 28, about $1 trillion has been wiped off the S&P 500 software and services index, Reuters noted. (Reuters)
On Friday, U.S. stocks snapped back sharply, sending the Dow past 50,000 for the first time as chip stocks surged—traders betting on bigger AI data center spending. “There’s real demand for AI products,” said Ross Mayfield, investment strategy analyst at Baird, acknowledging the trade’s choppiness. He noted that pullbacks keep attracting buyers eager to jump in. (Reuters)
Plenty of investors now turn to cloud ETFs to sidestep the risk of betting on just one company. First Trust’s SKYY, for instance, follows the ISE CTA Cloud Computing Index, which spreads its bets across both cloud infrastructure and software providers instead of focusing on a single platform. (First Trust)
Even so, the moves underscore just how picky the market’s gotten. Traders are piling into stocks seen as clear winners from increased compute and storage demand, and dumping those footing the bill for expansion with no obvious timeline for a return.
Here’s the risk: should investors start viewing the cloud giants’ ongoing spending as a sign these businesses are getting more capital-intensive, they might continue to push sector valuations lower—particularly for those firms leaning on high multiples to back up their growth narrative.
Next up, investors are eyeing a heavy slate of economic data rather than any single headline. The January U.S. nonfarm payrolls report hits Wednesday (Feb. 11), then Friday (Feb. 13) brings the consumer price index. Earnings season isn’t quite over, either, with Datadog still to report. “Rotation is the dominant theme this year,” said Angelo Kourkafas, senior global investment strategist at Edward Jones, though he pointed out tech expectations remain elevated. (Reuters)
