Market Highlights

Stocks and bonds posted small moves amid muted holiday trading after Friday’s benign US inflation data reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates this year. Futures on the S&P 500 were flatand Europe’s Stoxx 600 index gained 0.1%. NatWest Group Plc climbed 4.8% after Citigroup Inc. raised its price target on the UK lender. German bunds and Treasury futures were steady after US yields touched the lowest since December on Friday. With the US observing the Presidents’ Day holiday and mainland China’s markets closed for Lunar New Year holidays, trading volumes were thin. Still, the path of US interest rates remains in focus following the slower- than-expected US inflation print as traders fully price a Fed cut in July and the strong chance of a move in June

Wall Street got a degree of relief as relatively tame inflation data spurred bigger bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts, with bond yields falling. While most stocks gained, weakness in tech giants kept a lid on the market. Treasury two-year yields dropped to their lowest level since 2022 as traders priced in higher chances the Fed will slash rates more than twice this year. About 370 shares in the S&P 500 rose, but the gauge closed little changed at the end of its worst week since November. A gauge of megacaps lost 1.1%. Amazon.com Inc. saw its longest slide in almost 20 years. The Russell 2000 index of small firms climbed 1.2%. Bitcoin jumped. The consumer price index rose 0.2% in January, the smallest gain since July and restrained by lower energy costs. While services costs picked up last month, prices of core goods remained stable. The core CPI rose from a year ago by the least since 2021. The overall gauge also eased on an annual basis.

Prices buckled across several asset classes as concern about tech profits and weakness in commodities sent stocks down the most in over three weeks. Gold and silver tumbled as traders plowed money into the perceived safety of bonds. A rout in Bitcoin deepened. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 slipped 1.6% and 2%, respectively. Cisco Systems Inc. plunged 12% as a tepid margin outlook signaled higher memory-chip prices are taking a toll. All megacaps fell and an ETF tracking software firms slumped 2.7%. Worries about artificial-intelligence disruption engulfed industries from logistics to commercial real estate. In late hours, Applied Materials Inc. gave an upbeat forecast. Wall Street’s jitters over the outlook for the industry that has powered the bull market have grown despite solid results from megacaps, with traders dumping a broad range of tech shares. Besides all the worries over whether AI investments will pay off, fears about disruption have been mounting. The key event for traders on Friday will be the release of US January inflation data. The median forecast is predicting a year-over-year increase of 2.5% for the core consumer price index, which strips out food and energy.

A stronger-than-anticipated US jobs report spurred a slide in Treasuries as traders pared bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2026. An initial rally in major stock benchmarks waned. Cryptocurrencies slumped. Short-dated Treasuries were hit the hardest, with two-year yields hovering near 3.5%. Money markets priced in the Fed’s next cut in July, from June previously. Almost 300 shares in the S&P 500 rose on hopes economic growth will fuel earnings, but the gauge was little changed as most megacaps fell. An ETF tracking software firmsslid 2.6%. Bitcoin sank to about $67,500. Asian equities advanced for a fifthday, stretching their lead over US peers this year as relatively cheaper valuations and firmergrowth prospects lured buyers. Treasuries held their losses after stronger US jobs data.

Wall Street traders gearing up for the key jobs report drove a rally in Treasuries after weak retail sales bolstered the case for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates this year. Still, those bets weren’t enough to lift the S&P 500 to fresh all-time highs. Bitcoin sank. Ten-year yields dropped to the lowest in about a month, with money markets seeing slightly higher odds of three Fed cuts in 2026 - with two already fully priced in. About 300 shares in the US equity benchmark rose, but the gauge lost steam amid weakness in several tech names. A gauge of chipmakers dropped while an ETF tracking software firmstrimmed most of its earlier surge. Asian equities climbed to a record and the dollar declined ahead of Wednesday’s US jobs report after weak retail sales reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates later this year.

Another rally in tech companies after an artificial intelligence-driven rout drove stocks higher ahead of economic data that will help shape the Federal Reserve outlook. Gold topped $5,000. The dollar fell. Following a surge that added $1 trillion to the S&P 500’s value at the end of last week, the index kept rising to approach its all-time highs. A gauge of chipmakers climbed 1.4% while an ETF focused on software names extended a back-to-back advance to almost 7%. Oracle Corp. jumped 9.6%. Alphabet Inc. embarked on a global bond spree to fund its AI ambitions. Equities extended their rally to an all-time high as a rebound in US technology shares gathered pace, easing pressure on markets after worries over outsized spending on artificial intelligence.

Stocks notched their best day since May in the wake of a technology rout fueled by worries over the billions of dollars being thrown at artificial-intelligence development. Bitcoin jumped after a 50% tumble from its peak. Silver and gold also bounced. Following a plunge in some of Wall Street’s most-crowded trades, the S&P 500 rose 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit 50,000. An ETF tracking software firmsadded 3.5%. A gauge of chipmakers soared 5.7%, with Nvidia Corp.’s Jensen Huang telling CNBC demand for AI is “incredibly high.” Amazon.com Inc. sank 5.6% on plans to spend $200 billion on the technology. A broad rally across risk assets, from technology stocks to Bitcoin, lifted Asian equities to a record as gains from Wall Street on Friday carried into the new week.

Another burst of heavy selling pummeled software stocks and crypto, with weak jobs data exacerbating an equity rout spurred by concern over the impact of artificial intelligence on valuations. Bitcoin took one of its biggest tumbles yet. In late hours, Amazon.com Inc. plunged after its results. Stocks extended a slide from near-record levels, with the S&P 500 falling 1.2%. The Nasdaq 100 saw its worst three-day rout since April’s meltdown. The most-popular digital token tumbled to around $63,000 in a selloff that cut its value by nearly half since October. Treasuries climbed, sending two- year yields to the lowest level this year. Silver plummeted about 20%. A selloff in equities showed signs of easing as Friday’s session progressed, suggesting selling pressure was starting to abate after steep declines in US tech stocks. Precious metals also stabilized after a volatile start.

Wall Street traders kept driving a rotation out of technology giants, whose all-weather earnings made them safe bets at times of economic uncertainty, and into a broader category of companies tuned to improving growth prospects. Bitcoin extended its selloff. Stocks pared losses as nuclear talks between the US and Iran appeared on track after an earlier report said they had hit a snag. While the S&P 500 was mildly lower, most of its shares rose. The Nasdaq 100 slid 1.8%. A slump in technology stocks snowballed into Asia as mounting anxiety over frothy valuations and massive artificial intelligence spending drove investors to trim exposure.

A tech selloff dragged down stocks from near-record levels amid a rotation into economically sensitive shares. A flare-up in geopolitical risks lifted oil while gold bounced after a historic rout. Bitcoin hit the lowest since November 2024. The plunge in software makers came as Anthropic’s automation tool heightened concerns their core businesses are at risk. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% and the Nasdaq 100 slid 1.6%. News the US Navy shot down an Iranian drone headed toward an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea also weighed on sentiment. In late hours, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. gave a disappointing forecast. Software stocks slid from India to Japan, following declines in their US peers, on concern advances in artificial intelligence will undermine traditional business models.