Stocks hold steadier on Wall Street after an encouraging update on inflation

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market is holding steadier after an encouraging update on inflation helped calm a Wall Street that’s been wracked by worries about how artificial-intelligence technology may upend the business world. The S&P 500 barely budged early Friday, a day after one of its worst losses since Thanksgiving. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was also little changed, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%. Treasury yields fell in the bond market after the government reported that inflation slowed last month by more than economists expected. Americans paid prices for groceries, clothes and other essentials that were 2.4% higher overall than a year earlier.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

Markets on Wall Street flipped from losses to small gains before the opening bell Friday after the government reported that inflation at the consumer level cooled.

Futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq were up less than 0.1% ahead of the market open.

The government reported Friday that a key measure of inflation fell to a nearly five-year low in January, potentially boosting the prospects of an interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve next month. Economists had thought that the likelihood of another rate cut in the coming months was low, but the improved inflation data brought renewed optimism.

Inflation dropped to 2.4% in January compared with a year earlier, down from 2.7% in December and not too far from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose just 2.5% in January from a year ago, down from 2.6% the previous month and the smallest increase since March 2021.

Among the early big gainers was electric truck startup Rivian, which soared 24% after posting stronger revenue and a smaller loss than Wall Street analysts were expecting.

On the losing side was the online sportsbook DraftKings, which slid 15% even after posting nearly triple the profit analysts forecast. Investors were disappointed in the company’s lukewarm 2026 guidance.

Airbnb jumped nearly 6% after posting strong revenue as bookings grew 10% over the same period last year.

In Europe at midday, Britain’s FTSE ticked up 0.1%, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.5% and Germany’s DAX gained 0.5%.

Asia shares were trading lower. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2% to 56,941.97. SoftBank Group, which has a focus on AI, lost 8.9% even after the company reported a $1.6 billion quarterly profit Thursday building on its investments in OpenAI, among other gains.

South Korea’s Kospi was down 0.3% to 5,507.01 despite earlier gains. Samsung Electronics, the country’s largest listed company, was up 1.5%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 1.7% to 26,567.12. The Shanghai Composite index was down 1.3% to 4,082.07.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 traded 1.4% lower, while India’s Sensex was down 1.1%.

In energy trading early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 6 cents to $62.90 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 8 cents to $67.60 per barrel.