Cloud
NEW YORK, Jan 3, 2026, 12:59 ET — Market closed
- Cloud-focused ETFs SKYY, WCLD and CLOU fell 1.7% to 3.3% in Friday’s first session of 2026.
- Microsoft, Amazon and Salesforce ended lower, while Alphabet and Oracle finished higher.
- Traders are watching Treasury yields, delayed U.S. data releases after the shutdown, and a fast-approaching run of big-tech earnings. Nasdaq
Cloud computing stocks ended the first trading session of 2026 on the back foot, with several widely held cloud ETFs and software names sliding as investors rotated away from higher-priced growth shares.
The selling matters because many cloud companies are priced for years of future growth, leaving them sensitive when interest rates rise and the market demands quicker returns. Higher Treasury yields can pressure those valuations by raising the discount rate investors apply to future profits. Reuters
Joe Mazzola, head of trading and derivatives strategy at Charles Schwab, said “investors might be a little bit more conscious about some of the valuations that they’re paying for some of the AI plays.” Reuters
The broader market was mixed: the Dow and S&P 500 ended higher on Friday, while the Nasdaq finished slightly lower as declines in megacap technology stocks limited gains. Reuters
Treasury yields edged up as investors looked ahead to next week’s labor-market data and a backlog of indicators after the federal government shutdown disrupted the usual release calendar, Reuters reported. Reuters
In Friday’s session, the First Trust Cloud Computing ETF fell 1.7%, while the WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund dropped 3.3% and the Global X Cloud Computing ETF slid 2.5%.
Among large-cap cloud bellwethers, Microsoft fell 2.2% and Amazon slipped 1.9%, while Salesforce dropped 4.3%. ServiceNow fell 3.7%, MongoDB lost 4.8% and CrowdStrike fell 3.2%.
Not all cloud-linked names followed the same path. Alphabet rose 0.7% and Oracle added 0.4%, underscoring investor preference for perceived durability as the year begins.
“Cloud computing” typically refers to renting computing power and software over the internet instead of running it on a company’s own servers. Investors watch the sector closely because enterprise IT budgets and AI demand can swing the pace of cloud spending. Reuters
The market is also trying to pin down the Federal Reserve’s trajectory as Jerome Powell approaches the end of his term as chair, with rate expectations likely to remain a key driver for high-multiple software stocks. Reuters
Before Monday’s open, traders will be watching whether bond yields keep grinding higher and whether delayed U.S. releases begin to reshape the rates outlook. The benchmark 10-year yield was around 4.19% on Friday, Reuters said. Reuters
A separate risk for the cloud complex is the physical buildout behind AI and cloud capacity. Tech companies and developers are running into intensifying local opposition to data-center proposals, which can slow projects that underpin long-term cloud growth, the Associated Press reported. ABC News
Earnings are the next major test. Nasdaq listings showed Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon are estimated to report in early February, with ServiceNow also pegged for early February, keeping guidance on cloud demand and AI-related spending in focus. Nasdaq
On the chart, some traders will also track Friday’s lows as near-term levels: SKYY traded down to about $127, WCLD to about $33.7 and CLOU to about $21.9. A break below those levels would reinforce the risk-off tone in cloud stocks heading into Monday.
