Overview
- U.S. stocks were little changed Friday, with the S&P 500 up 0.05%, the Dow up 0.1%, the Nasdaq down 0.2%, and the Russell 2000 up 1.1%.
- Inflation slowed to 0.2% month over month and 2.4% year over year in January, with core at 0.3% and 2.5%, nudging the 10-year yield toward 4.10%–4.14% and lifting odds of Fed cuts.
- Leadership rotated toward small caps and defensive sectors such as utilities and real estate, while megacap technology remained a drag as AI-disruption worries lingered.
- Cisco dropped more than 12% this week after warning that higher memory-chip costs will pressure profitability, adding to weakness in large tech shares.
- For the week, the S&P 500 fell 1.4%, the Nasdaq 2.1%, the Dow 1.2%, and the Russell 2000 0.9%, even as a majority of Q4 reporters topped estimates.