Overview
- January CPI cooled to 2.4% year over year with core at 2.5%, easing pressure on rates and lifting market odds for Federal Reserve cuts.
- By Friday’s close, the S&P 500 was nearly flat, the Dow rose 0.1%, the Nasdaq fell 0.2%, and the Russell 2000 climbed 1.2%.
- The prior day’s selloff was led by megacap tech as Cisco tumbled about 12% after warning that higher memory‑chip costs would squeeze margins.
- AI disruption fears hit trucking, logistics and software shares, though some names, including C. H. Robinson and AppLovin, recouped part of Thursday’s losses.
- Weekly data showed initial jobless claims at 227,000 with continuing claims at 1.862 million, while existing‑home sales fell 8.4% to a 16‑month low of 3.91 million.