Wall Street steadies after its AI-induced sell-off
BNN Bloomberg
U.S. stocks steadied after an encouraging update on inflation helped calm worries about how artificial-intelligence technology may upend business.
The S&P 500 barely budged, a day after it had tumbled to one of its worst losses since Thanksgiving. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 48 points, or 0.1 per cent, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.2 per cent.
Stocks got some help from easing Treasury yields, which fell after a report showed inflation slowed last month by more than economists expected. U.S. consumers paid prices for groceries, clothes and other costs of living that were 2.4 per cent higher overall than a year earlier.
While that’s higher than anyone would like and above the two per cent target set by the Federal Reserve, it wasn’t as bad as December’s 2.7 per cent rate. And an underlying measure of inflation that economists see as a better predictor of where it may be heading slowed to the least-painful level in nearly five years.
“It’s still too high, but only for now, not forever,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management.
Besides helping U.S. households struggling to keep up with the cost of living, slower inflation could also give the Federal Reserve more leeway to cut interest rates, if needed. The Fed has put its cuts to interest rates on hold, but the widespread expectation is that it will resume later this year.
The U.S. is temporarily easing some sanctions on Russian oil shipments, reflecting global concerns over sharply higher crude prices due to supply shortages stemming from the Iran war.
The Trump administration this week stepped up its ambitious effort to replace about US$1.6 trillion in lost tariff revenue that was eliminated by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down a range of the president’s import taxes.
The Bank of Canada will be balancing a last-minute flood of economic data with uncertainty around trade and war in the Middle East as it prepares to make its second interest rate decision of 2026 this week.
The Trump administration has expanded its trade investigations to 60 countries, including Canada, in an effort to shore up the president’s tariff policies.
Canada has committed to supplying 23.6 million barrels of oil as part of a larger International Energy Agency plan to help stabilize energy markets as the war in the Middle East continues.
Canada’s energy-heavy index may cushion stocks from oil shocks, but rising crude prices could boost inflation and pressure consumers.
Venture Global will proceed with phase 2 of its CP2 liquefied natural gas project in Louisiana, the company said on Friday.
The U.S. is temporarily easing some sanctions on Russian oil shipments, reflecting global concerns over sharply higher crude prices due to supply shortages stemming from the Iran war.
Telus Corp.’s global IT and customer services arm says it’s investigating a breach of its systems.
When Jensen Huang strides onto the stage of a packed hockey arena to kick off Nvidia’s annual developer conference on Monday, he is likely to reveal products and partnerships geared toward keeping the AI chipmaker atop a growing array of competitors.
The current Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) crackdown on Canada’s growing army of gig workers has gone beyond Uber drivers, contractors, consultants, handy-people and freelancers.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office said late on Thursday it had begun Section 301 unfair trade practices probes of 60 economies in relation to what it called failures to take action on forced labor.