U.S. stocks were largely unchanged during Tuesday's midday trading, with major indices attempting to stabilize following last week's declines. Software stocks continued their downward trend.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 45.31 points, or 0.09%, to 49,546.24. The Nasdaq Composite fell by 13.88 points, or 0.06%, to 22,532.79. The S&P 500 index edged up by 0.96 points, or 0.01%, to 6,837.13. U.S. markets were closed on Monday in observance of Presidents Day. On Tuesday, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), a key gauge of market fear, climbed above 20, reaching a high of 22.50. At the start of trading last week, the index was hovering around 17. An SEC filing revealed that SoftBank Group has divested its entire stake in Nvidia. The software sector is facing pressure due to concerns that artificial intelligence tools could displace certain industry-specific software providers. Autodesk and Salesforce.com continued to decline. The S&P 500 just concluded its second consecutive week of losses, as worries about the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence affected industries including software, real estate, trucking, and financial services. Both the S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow Jones fell more than 1% last week, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped over 2%. Daniel Skelly, Head of Market Research and Strategy for the Wealth Management Team at Morgan Stanley, commented, "Concerns about AI disruption have resurfaced, this time targeting new areas. With the S&P 500 essentially flat for the year, the previous bull market has undoubtedly paused; it has surfaced a 'disruption panic' bull market." The latest Bank of America Fund Manager Survey shows a record number of investors believe corporate spending is excessive. The bank's strategist Michael Hartnett noted in the report that while investor bullishness among survey participants reached its highest level since June 2021, about 35% warned that companies are showing signs of over-investment, the highest proportion seen in the data over the past two decades. These investors are also reducing their exposure to technology stocks. Capital expenditure is projected to reach record levels this year, with combined spending by the four largest U.S. technology companies forecast to be approximately $650 billion by 2026. Market reactions to these forecasts have been mixed: Microsoft shares experienced their largest drop in nearly six years due to investor concerns about extended return-on-investment cycles, while Meta Platforms Inc.'s stock surged over 11% after announcing ambitious AI spending plans. The latest Bank of America survey indicated that a quarter of respondents view an "AI bubble" as the top tail risk for markets, while 30% pointed to capital expenditure by tech giants in the AI field as the most likely catalyst for a credit crisis. Both the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 have registered losses in four out of the past five weeks. The Nasdaq index fell for a fifth consecutive week, marking its longest losing streak since 2022. These concerns appear to have overshadowed the impact of the latest Consumer Price Index data released last Friday. January's headline CPI figure came in below the forecasts of economists surveyed by Dow Jones. This followed a stronger-than-expected jobs report released earlier the previous week. Investors will gain further insight into the inflation path this week, with the Personal Consumption Expenditures report scheduled for release on Friday. Before that, they will focus on the Federal Reserve's meeting minutes due on Wednesday. Palo Alto Networks is set to report earnings after the market closes on Tuesday. DoorDash, Walmart, and Wayfair will release their results later in the week.