S&P 500 turns negative for 2026 as investors add job market to a growing list of worries facing Wall Street

The action in stocks on Thursday showed just how quickly simmering concerns in one corner of the market can boil over into a large-scale rout.

Nine out of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors fell on Thursday after labor data

pointed to rising layoffs and a big drop in job openings in December, casting doubt on recent optimism around the economy. The S&P 500 SPX fell 1.2%, slipping into negative territory year to date. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA ended the day 1.2% lower and the Nasdaq Composite COMP dropped 1.6%.