NEW YORK, Jan 31 (Reuters) - U.S. investors rattled by

this week's sharp tech sell-off will closely watch upcoming jobs

data for signs of continued economic resilience, which could

fuel inflationary concerns already stoked by President Donald

Trump's policies.

The January nonfarm payrolls report due next week will

signal whether the labor market remains buoyant despite high

borrowing costs. The Federal Reserve left interest rates

unchanged on Wednesday, citing a strong economy and inflation

still above its 2% target.

Markets will also be on alert for hints of economic

overheating, which could exacerbate fears that Trump's trade and

immigration policies could reignite inflation. Earlier this

month stocks sold off after a December jobs report reinforced

bets the Fed would ease rates slowly this year.

"The employment report will be key to determining whether we

are still on track with a labor market that's solid but is not

driving inflationary pressures through to the service economy,"

said Tony Rodriguez, head of fixed income strategy at Nuveen.

Stocks tumbled earlier this week as Chinese startup

DeepSeek's budget-friendly artificial intelligence model fueled

fears that U.S. tech giants might be overpriced. While stocks

have clawed back some ground, the sell-off dampened recent

optimism about the U.S. economy.

"Investors have been confused by a wave of disparate data

this week, including news on AI, Trump administration policies,

the FOMC meeting, and earnings," Mark Hackett, chief market

strategist at Nationwide said in a note.

"The gyrations in the large technology space provide further

evidence that the risk/reward balance in that space is

stretched, and it is susceptible to a sell-off," he said.

Quarterly financial results from Alphabet and

Amazon ( AMZN ) are on deck next week, following a mixed bag of

earnings reports from other members of the so-called Magnificent

Seven megacap tech stocks.

Economic policy uncertainty under the new administration,

including Trump's threat of punitive tariffs on large U.S. trade

partners, will likely continue to keep investors on edge.

That is partly why the markets are honing in on next

week's economic data, said Byron Anderson, head of fixed income

at Laffer Tengler Investments.

"Uncertainty in markets is making market participants focus

on these data points so intently," he said. "When markets have

no long-term vision ... the data moving forward will get all the

attention."