Stocks Slip Ahead of January CPI Report; Tech Sell-Off Slows

The major stock indexes were down in premarket trading on Friday as investors awaited the first consumer inflation report of the year.

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and benchmark S&P 500 were each down about 0.2% in early trading on Friday, while Nasdaq 100 futures contracts were off about 0.3%. Stocks slumped yesterday, with tech leading the slump as the AI jitters that sparked last week’s “SaaSpocalypse” flared up.

Investors on Friday were awaiting the release of January’s Consumer Price Index, due at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect inflation slowed last month to 2.5%, its lowest reading since last May. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to have also fallen 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. 

The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which impacts interest rates on a variety of consumer loans including mortgages, was recently 4.11%, unchanged from 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.

Big tech stocks continued to feel some pressure after sliding yesterday. Nvidia (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOG), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), and Tesla (TSLA) were all down less than 1% in premarket trading.

Gold futures were recently at $4,985 an ounce, up marginally after tumbling yesterday. West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, was recently trading at $62.50, down about 0.5%.

Bitcoin rebounded from yesterday’s lows around $65,000 to trade slightly above $67,000. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of global currencies, was up 0.1% at 97.05.