Strong May Jobs Report Dents Rate-Cut Hopes, Triggers Software Stock Sell-Off

The U.S. economy added 172,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in May, far surpassing the 85,000 consensus and pushing stocks lower on June 6, 2026, as the robust data weakened expectations for near-term Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. A prolonged high-rate environment pressures growth-focused technology valuations, triggering a sharp pullback in software shares. RingCentral, 8x8, and Shopify were among the decliners. RingCentral’s shares fell, extending a volatile pattern; the stock has had 36 moves of more than 5% in the past year. It remains up 49.2% year-to-date but trades 16.2% below its May 2026 52-week high of $49.10. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software ETF had surged 15% over the prior three sessions, prompting profit-taking. The broader S&P 500 was essentially flat, confirming the selling was sector-specific rather than a market-wide risk-off shift.