US Stock Market Today: S&P 500 Slides Toward Second Weekly Decline Amid Earnings and AI Trade Moves

US equities traded unevenly on Friday after a volatile week shaped by geopolitics and earnings. The moves left the S&P 500 positioned for a second straight weekly decline.

Investors shifted attention back to corporate results and monetary policy as tariff fears eased. Flows data and chip-sector headlines added to the crosscurrents.

S&P 500 Weekly Decline Keeps Earnings and Fed Policy at the Center

The S&P 500 rose 0.3% as of 11:02 a.m. New York time, while the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.7%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%, and the Russell 2000 dropped 1%.

Markets also tracked global benchmarks. The MSCI World Index rose 0.3%, while the Stoxx Europe 600 held little changed.

Consumer data offered a steadier signal. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index rose to 56.4 in January from 52.9 in December, according to the survey.

Director Joanne Hsu said the improvement was broad-based across groups. Still, she said sentiment stayed more than 20% below a year earlier, as consumers cited high prices and labor-market worries.

Interest rate markets showed limited movement ahead of next week’s Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting. The 10-year Treasury yield slipped one basis point to 4.24%, and the 2-year yield held near 3.60%.

NVIDIA H200 AI Chips Lift Megacaps as Intel Outlook Hits Semiconductor Sentiment

Chipmakers traded in opposite directions as investors weighed demand signals. NVIDIA rose 1.5% after Chinese officials told large technology firms they can prepare orders for NVIDIA’s H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

The discussions suggested Beijing is close to approving imports needed to run AI systems. Consequently, megacaps outperformed, and the Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1.6%.

Intel dropped 16% after its chief executive officer struck a cautious tone on earnings. The company also flagged persistent manufacturing setbacks, which investors linked to execution risk.

Currency and crypto moves echoed the cautious tone. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.2%, while the Japanese yen strengthened 0.2% to 158.11 per dollar.

Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $89,689.17, while Ether gained 0.3% to $2,953.49. Meanwhile, the euro held near $1.1757, and the British pound rose 0.5% to $1.3565.

US Equity Outflows Add Momentum to Rotation Toward Europe, Japan, and Emerging Markets

Fund flows signaled a shift in investor positioning during the latest week. Bank of America said investors pulled nearly $17 billion from US-focused equity funds, citing EPFR Global data.

The bank pointed to stronger demand outside the United States. European stock funds recorded their strongest six-week inflow since June, and Japanese funds posted their biggest weekly additions since October.

Emerging markets also attracted fresh allocations. The $134 billion iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets exchange-traded fund (ETF) is headed for its largest monthly inflow since its 2012 launch.

Geopolitics stayed in the background for risk assets. US officials sought revisions to defense arrangements with Denmark to expand military flexibility in Greenland, people familiar with the matter said.

Trade tensions eased after earlier volatility. Bank of America said the data largely captured flows before President Donald Trump softened his Greenland rhetoric during a turbulent stretch.

The bank also said Trump later dropped tariff threats after NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Secretary General Mark Rutte helped secure a breakthrough at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Cross-asset pricing reflected demand for hedges. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 2.3% to $60.74 a barrel, and spot gold gained 0.6% to $4,964.40 an ounce.

Treasuries held steady, with the 30-year yield near 4.83%. Germany’s 10-year yield stayed around 2.89%, while Britain’s 10-year yield rose two basis points to 4.49%.

Earnings now drive the next test for valuations. Companies representing more than a third of the S&P 500’s market value are due to report, keeping the S&P 500's weekly decline in focus.

Also Read: US Stock Market Today: NASDAQ 100 Rises 0.7% as Traders Position for Fed Rate Cut After Soft Inflation Reading

Corporate Highlights

• Apple said EU regulators delayed app policy changes while continuing investigations.

• Amazon prepared further corporate job cuts as it reviewed staffing levels and costs.

• TikTok and ByteDance closed a deal, shifting parts of their US operations to US investors.

• Capital One missed estimates, cited higher costs, and agreed to acquire Brex for $5B.

• Alaska Air's forecast disappointed with weaker full-year earnings guidance from management.

• CSX shares rose after the railroad issued forecasts for 2026 alongside earnings updates.

• SLB raised its dividend and beat Q4 estimates as Middle East activity and margins improved.

• Alcoa reported a quarterly earnings beat that one analyst described as low-quality.

• DoorDash and Uber lost a bid to block NYC’s tipping option at checkout starting next week.

• Affirm applied for a limited bank charter to expand US buy-now, pay-later offerings.

• Sandisk short interest climbed for months, raising short-squeeze risk to “extreme,” S3 said.

• Lufthansa faced Boeing 787 delays as business-class seat certification continued to drag.

• UBS evaluated crypto access for select private clients, starting with Bitcoin and Ether.

• Ericsson proposed its first-ever buyback after fourth-quarter earnings beat forecasts.

Next week brings heavier earnings and economic updates, with more than a third of the S&P 500’s value due to report. That schedule will test whether profit growth can steady markets after the S&P 500's weekly decline.