By Dow Jones Newswires Staff

U.S. equity futures fell slightly as stock markets across the globe looked set to end a turbulent trading week with a day of losses. Roaming artificial-intelligence concerns sparked losses in several sectors over the week, and heavy selling in U.S. stocks bled into Asian equities. A U.S. trade deal with Taiwan and reports of easing trade restrictions with China raised hopes of positive catalysts to come.

Investors look ahead to U.S. inflation data for January due later Friday, with analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal's poll forecasting a fall in both headline and core inflation figures. The print will be closely watched by traders charting the Federal Reserve's likely rate cutting path. The dollar edged higher and U.S. Treasury yields rose ahead of the data.

U.S. and Canadian markets will be closed Monday due to public holidays.

--U.S. equities looked set to extend losses after a fresh round of AI competition concerns, paired with a clutch of shaking earnings prints, saw heavy selling Thursday. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.2%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.1% premarket. Futures for the tech-heavy Nasdaq edged down 0.03%.

--Asian shares mostly fell, following U.S. market moves, as South Korea's stock market saw a volatile session. The Kospi slipped 0.3%, but still notched a 8.2% gain for the week. Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.2%, while mainland Chinese stocks fell sharply ahead of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday. ChiNext was down 1.6% at the close, while shares in Shanghai were down 1.3%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.7% as the index's basic-materials sector tumbled 7.1%.

--European blue-chip indexes were mixed in volatile early trade as technology stocks gained, while basic-materials and consumer-sensitive stocks fell. The U.K. FTSE 100 edged up 0.15% in London. House builders in the index fell, though software company Relx--which recently tumbled under AI concerns--gained 3%. Losses for basic-materials companies weighed on indexes in Germany and Spain. Banks helped the IBEX 35 nudge up 0.15%, while the DAX slipped 0.1%. Italy's FTSE MIB fell 0.4%, dragged by cables company Prysmian, which fell 4.5%.

Positive results for Applied Materials in the U.S. and Capgemini in France lifted European tech, pushing the Dutch AEX up 0.3%. The CAC 40 was down 0.4% in Paris, however, as L'Oreal dropped 6.3% after announcing earnings.

--The dollar edged higher as U.S. trade concerns eased and investors await U.S. inflation data. The U.S. and Taiwan signed a trade agreement Thursday while Reuters reported the U.S. shelved key tech restrictions targeting China ahead of an April meeting between the two countries' leaders. The U.S. inflation data are due at 1330 GMT. The data are important "because markets are still expecting further rate cuts under a new Fed chair, but stronger data like the jobs report on Wednesday has led to a bit more doubt as to whether that's still possible," Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note. The DXY dollar index rose 0.2% to 97.097.

--U.S. Treasury yields rose in Asia trading hours as markets await the data. "Data of this ilk would reinforce the idea that the U.S. economy continues to experience gradual disinflation, despite the upside price risks presented by tariffs," Pepperstone's Michael Brown said in a note. January, however, is typically a noisy month for CPI as firms hike prices at the start of the year, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics recalculates seasonal adjustment factors, he says. The two-year Treasury yield was up 0.6 basis points at 3.470%, while the 10-year yield rose 0.9 bps to 4.112%, according to Tradeweb.

--Bitcoin rose marginally but its recovery remains modest after its recent sharp selloff. Risk appetite improved slightly after U.S. trade tensions eased. However, investors remain cautious following sharp declines in U.S. stocks Thursday. Bitcoin rose 0.6% to $66,170, having reached a near one-week low of $64,998 Thursday and a 16-month low of $60,008 last Friday, LSEG data showed.

--Oil prices were headed for weekly losses on expectations of rising global supply and easing fears of imminent disruptions in the Middle East. Brent crude and WTI each rose 0.2% to $67.67 and $62.33 a barrel, respectively, though both benchmarks remain on track to post weekly losses of more than 0.5%. The International Energy Agency lowered its forecast for oil-demand growth this year and said supply is set to rebound following January's losses due to the U.S. winter storm. Meanwhile, comments from President Trump eased market watchers' fears of potential U.S. military action. Trump said he would prefer to secure a nuclear agreement with Iran and that he intends to continue negotiations.

--Gold prices rebounded ahead of the U.S. data. "Gold recovered part of its recent losses as dip-buyers returned ahead of key U.S. inflation data, rising as much as 1.4% after 3.2% drop in the previous session, its largest one-day fall in a week," said Soojin Kim from MUFG. "The earlier decline coincided with broader market jitters and was likely amplified by margin calls, algorithmic trading, and profit-taking." In early trading, futures in New York gained 1.1% to $5,002.10 a troy ounce and are on track for a modest weekly gain. Meanwhile, silver futures also recovered from the previous session's fall, rising 4% to $78.71 an ounce.

Write to Barcelona Editors at barcelonaeditors@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 13, 2026 04:42 ET (09:42 GMT)

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