Stocks were mixed on Wednesday as technology names continued to fall following a lackluster forecast from Advanced Micro Devices (AMD  ).

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA  ) rose over 260 points to settle at 49,501.30, while the S&P 500 Index (SPY  ) was down 0.5% to close at 6,882.72 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (QQQ  ) dropped 1.5% to end the session at 22,904.57.

In the spotlight, AMD reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, but offered disappointing first-quarter guidance -- expecting $9.8 billion, plus or minus $300 million -- in response to the artificial intelligence spending boom.

"Server CPU demand remains very strong," CEO Lisa Su told analysts during the company's earnings call, despite its outlook being on the weaker side. "Hyperscalers are expanding their infrastructure to meet growing demand for cloud services in AI, while enterprises are modernizing their data centers to ensure they have the right compute required to enable new AI workflows."

In economic news, private payrolls rose by just 22,000 in January, according to payroll processor ADP's monthly report, coming below estimates and December's downwardly revised total of 37,000. The ADP report typically precedes the Bureau of Labor Statistics' "official" monthly jobs report, but January's will be delayed due to the partical U.S. government shutdown that ended on Tuesday.

U.S. service-sector activity rose in January, the Institute for Supply Management reported Wednesday, even as prices rose over December. The ISM services index came in at 53.8, matching December's revised reading. Readings above the neutral level of 50 also indicate positive growth.

"There was more respondent commentary in January on tariff impacts and uncertainty, potentially the result of annual contract renewals and geopolitical tensions," said Steve Miller, chair of the ISM, in a statement.

Elsewhere, homebuilders including Lennar Corp (LEN  ) and Taylor Morrison Home Corp (TMHC  ) rose on Wednesday after Bloomberg reported they would spearhead President Donald Trump's plan to build "Trump Homes" to address the nation's housing affordability crisis. However, analysts at Barclays and UBS were cautious on how this move would benefit homebuilders.

"We think any supply-driven solution would be detrimental for homebuilder margins given elevated inventory levels today in the markets where builders have lots, and the lack of supportive fundamental demand," analyst Rafe Jadrosich wrote in a note Tuesday.

UBS analyst John Lavallo wrote in a separate note that the firm views 2026 as a positive year for the housing market "for a number of reasons, including that inventory has stabilized/been worked down across key markets."

"If this program does come to fruition, we believe it must be done thoughtfully as to not force supply into unreceptive markets," he added.

Looking ahead, market participants will turn their attention towards quarterly earnings from Alphabet (GOOG  ) (GOOGL  ) on Thursday for more insights on the health of big tech heading into the start of the year.