13.02.202614:37:02UTC+00US Stocks Hold Losses on Friday

US stock indexes hovered near the flatline on Friday, consolidating the sharp pullback from the prior session, as pressure persisted on companies with AI exposure despite a benign January inflation report. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq were roughly unchanged, while the Dow slipped about 100 points. Headline inflation eased in January and core inflation moderated in line with expectations, reinforcing market expectations that the Federal Reserve will deliver multiple rate cuts this year.

Tech stocks extended their recent weakness and were on track to drag the US equity market lower for a third straight week, amid growing doubts about the sustainability of heavy capital spending by AI-focused firms. At the same time, advances in automation technology sparked broad selling in software services names. Oracle, Palantir, and Microsoft traded mostly flat after sharp declines in the previous session, while Micron fell steeply, erasing much of Thursday’s gains. In contrast, Applied Materials and Arista Networks each surged about 10% following strong earnings results.