:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/GettyImages-2260538673-22a8b361ba194c079acaef9640acb4b8.jpg)
Stock futures erased earlier losses to trade flat before the opening bell Friday after a crucial inflation report showed prices rose less than expected last month.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, benchmark S&P 500, and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were all recently flat but off lows from earlier in the morning. Stocks slumped yesterday, with tech leading the slump as the AI jitters that sparked last week’s “SaaSpocalypse” flared up.
Inflation slowed to 2.4% in January, its lowest reading since May and a bigger slowdown than economists expected, according to data released Friday. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, fell to 2.5%, its lowest print since March 2021. (Follow Investopedia’s live coverage of Friday’s report here.)
Friday’s data will be one of several inflation and labor market reports factoring into the conversation when Federal Reserve officials meet to set monetary policy next month. The odds the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates in the next few months dropped sharply on Wednesday when data showed the U.S. added twice as many jobs as economists expected last month.
Treasury yields fell following the release of Friday’s inflation report. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which impacts interest rates on a variety of consumer loans including mortgages, was recently 4.09%, down from 4.11% at Thursday’s close.
Corporate earnings continued to be a driver of big stock moves on Friday. Shares of Applied Materials (AMAT) jumped 11% in premarket trading after the semiconductor manufacturing equipment maker topped revenue and earnings estimates on demand for AI chips. The AI data center boom also drove strong results at Arista Networks (ANET), shares of which were up 11% premarket. Pinterest (PINS) stock plummeted 20% on its weak results and DraftKings (DKNG) fell 17% after issuing a disappointing full-year forecast.
Most big tech stocks continued to feel some pressure after sliding yesterday. Alphabet (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA) were all down less than 1% in premarket trading, while Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL) inched higher.
Gold futures were recently at $5,015 an ounce, up more than 1% after tumbling yesterday. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, were recently up about 0.2% at $62.95 a barrel.
Bitcoin rebounded from yesterday’s lows around $65,000 to trade above $67,000. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of global currencies, was flat at 96.9.
