Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on February 13, 2026 in New York City.
Spencer Pratt | Getty Images
of S&P500 Stocks rose on Friday after a key consumer inflation report was slightly lighter than expected, but stocks were still on pace for a down week.
The broader market index rose 0.7%. Nasdaq Composite It rose by 0.6%. of Dow Jones Industrial Average 251 points (0.5%) added.
The Consumer Price Index, which measures the cost of goods and services in the U.S. economy, rose 0.2% in January, for an annualized increase of 2.4%, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Inflation was expected to rise 0.3% month-over-month and 2.5% year-over-year, according to a survey of economists from Dow Jones.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core CPI was 0.3% month-on-month and 2.5% year-on-year, in line with expectations.
“This will be welcome news for the market and for incoming Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh,” said Phil Brancato, chief market strategist at Ozaik. “This is only one month’s worth of data, but if this trend continues, it should pave the way for lower interest rates and lower inflation.”
Keith Buchanan of Globalt Investments said inflation was also “not unrelated” to existing concerns among investors that artificial intelligence would destroy potential returns in various industries. He said that while Friday’s CPI results had “nothing to do with what we expected” as far as industry disruptions, the market was still trying to find out what AI and its implementation across the economy actually meant, noting that it was creating “upward pressure on unemployment” and “downward pressure on inflation.”
“How do you think everyone is going to win and there are no losers?” a senior portfolio manager told CNBC.
Concerns over AI disruption rocked markets this week, extending beyond the recent software sell-off to other notable sectors such as real estate, trucking, and financial services. financial stocks charles schwab and morgan stanley Software stocks fell 10% and 5%, respectively, this week, while working day It fell 9% during the period. Commercial real estate company stock CBRE It’s down 15% week to date.
These concerns spread to the media industry, hurting media stocks such as Yahoo! walt disney and Netflix. Disney stock is down 3% for the week, and Netflix stock is down 6%.
“Investors will not tolerate perceived AI losers. The list is growing by the day, and there is a growing disconnect between old and new economic sectors and US and (other) stocks,” said Barclays analyst Emmanuel Cau. “While there is volatility in price movements and concerns that AI disruption could translate into broader macro/credit issues, the growth, interest rate and earnings backdrop remains intact.”
Although stocks rose on Friday, the average of the three major stocks is trending lower for the week. The S&P 500 and Dow 30 are both down nearly 1%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is expected to fall more than 1% over the period.
Major semiconductor company applied materials The stock was a bright spot in Friday trading, rising 9% on strong results and a positive outlook. airbnb The company was a winner, too, as investors cheered the rental company’s positive outlook and its stock rose 4%. pinterest In contrast, the stock fell 18% after the company reported lower-than-expected fourth-quarter results and issued a weak outlook.
