MARKET SNAPSHOT

U.S. stock indexes finished mixed on Friday. Treasury yields declined following softer-than-expected U.S. consumer price index gains and ahead of a shortened week featuring the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. The WSJ Dollar Index edged lower Friday - down for a sixth consecutive trading day. Crude oil futures settled slightly higher, but still finished the week losing ground. Gold and silver futures finished higher to close the week.

MARKET WRAPS

EQUITIES

U.S. stock indexes finished mixed Friday, stabilizing after the previous session's AI-driven selloff. All three benchmarks ended the week with losses, with the Nasdaq composite down the most.

On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.1%, the S&P 500 edged up less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite declined 0.2%.

For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 1.2%, the S&P 500 retreated 1.4% and the Nasdaq composite dropped 2.1%.

Early in the day, new data showed inflation slowed a touch more than expected last month, though not if volatile food and energy prices are excluded. Some economists had braced for hotter readings, as prices have a habit of spiking at the start of the year.

The report showed consumer-price growth slowed to an annual pace of 2.4% in January, undershooting forecasts for 2.5%, as prices for gas dropped, alongside costs for used cars and trucks. The core rate was 2.5%, matching forecasts.

Markets in Asia ended lower on Friday.

China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.3%, the Shenzhen Composite Index lost 1.1%, and the ChiNext Price Index dropped 1.6%.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.7%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declined 1.2%.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Benchmark Index dropped 1.4%.

New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index tumbled 2.5%.

COMMODITIES

Crude oil futures settled slightly higher on Friday, but still finished the week losing ground.

For the week, crude oil fell 1% to $62.89 a barrel.

Friday's Rig Count Report from Baker Hughes showed a slight decrease in U.S. oil rigs, although that was offset by an increase in gas rigs.

News that OPEC+ intends to resume oil output increases, as well as headlines surrounding U.S. military operations versus Iran drove trading, said Robert Yawger of Mizuho Securities USA.

Brent crude prices rose 0.3% for the day to $67.75 a barrel, making it 0.4% Brent prices fell for the week.

Gold and silver futures finished higher to close the week.

For gold, the front-month contract rose 2% to $5,022 a troy ounce, and 1.4% higher for the week. Gold has finished higher in 8 out of the past 10 weeks.

For silver, the front-month contract settled up 3.1% to $77.581 a troy ounce, and up 1.5% for the week, breaking a two-week losing streak. Silver has finished higher in 11 out of the past 15 weeks.

In a note, Antonio Di Giacomo of XS.com said that even with volatility in precious metals, the appetite for safe haven assets remains in place, supporting higher prices.

TODAY'S TOP HEADLINES

Inflation Slowed to 2.4% in January, Helped by Lower Gasoline Prices

Annual inflation slowed in January, falling more than economists expected, helped by declining prices for gasoline and used vehicles.

Cooler price increases overall are positive news for the economy, easing concerns that the Trump administration's steep tariffs will lead to broader ongoing inflation. Yet price increases in January for items like computers and washing machines suggest inflation is continuing to weigh on Americans exhausted by price hikes.

Consumer prices rose 2.4% in January from a year earlier, cooler than 2.7% in December and below the 2.5% economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected. Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy items, rose 2.5% from a year earlier, in line with expectations.

Europe's Exports to U.S. Rose Despite Tariffs, as Imports From China Jumped

The European Union's exports to the U.S. held up last year despite the higher tariffs imposed by President Trump, but those increased duties pushed Chinese businesses to seek and find new customers in the bloc.

The European Union's statistics agency Friday said exports of goods from the EU to the rest of the world rose 2% in 2025 to 2.6 trillion euros ($3.087 trillion).

The strength of exports has surprised policymakers, and is one of the reasons why the eurozone economy grew more rapidly last year than many had expected when Trump took office with the stated aim of hiking tariffs. Eurostat Friday confirmed that the eurozone's gross domestic product increased 1.5% last year, its fastest expansion since 2022.

Week Ahead for FX, Bonds: U.S. GDP and PCE Data, Fed Minutes Due

U.S. gross domestic product data, PCE inflation figures and minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting are awaited as investors continue to gauge when the next interest-rate cut is likely.

Among European data, provisional purchasing managers' data and U.K. inflation data will mark the highlight. In Asia, some key economic figures out of Japan, Australia and Southeast Asia will be in focus in a holiday-shortened week, with many markets closing for Lunar New Year.

U.S. markets are closed on Monday for Presidents Day.

Anthropic Adds New Board Member as It Eyes IPO

Former Microsoft and General Motors executive Chris Liddell, who helped take the automaker public, has joined Anthropic's board of directors, the company said.

The appointment adds a board member with experience steering a large company through a public listing as Anthropic eyes a potential IPO. The developer of the Claude chatbot and a key rival to OpenAI has told financial partners that it is open to the possibility of listing by the end of this year.

Liddell served as deputy chief of staff for policy coordination during President Trump's first term. At the time, he was a close ally of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, who selected Liddell to work in the Office of American Innovation at the outset of the Trump administration, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

Dubai CEO Named in Epstein Files Resigns From DP World

DUBAI-Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, the leader of ports operator DP World, resigned after documents released by the Justice Department revealed his close ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

The Justice Department files and other recent public disclosures showed the two men exchanged friendly emails for years, including discussing women in crude terms. Photos showed that Bin Sulayem visited Epstein's island.

The spotlight intensified this week when it was revealed in Congress that the Dubai businessman was the "sultan" that received a 2019 email where Epstein wrote: "I loved the torture video."

Detroit Automakers Take $50 Billion Hit as EV Bubble Bursts

U.S. automakers have been pumping the brakes on their electric-vehicle businesses for months, and the costs are piling up.

Following years of investments into EV technology, the Detroit Big Three-General Motors, Ford Motor and Jeep-maker Stellantis have announced more than $50 billion in combined write-downs.

EV sales fell more than 30% in the fourth quarter, after a $7,500 federal tax credit that had juiced U.S. sales expired in September. Demand cratered for the highest-profile EVs, from Tesla's Cybertruck to Ford's much hyped electric pickup. Automakers expect demand to remain muted this year.

Expected Major Events for Monday

00:30/SIN: Jan Merchandise Trade, incl non-oil domestic exports (NODX)

02:30/THA: 4Q GDP

04:30/JPN: Dec Revised Industrial Production

04:30/JPN: Dec Revised Retail Sales

08:00/HK: Jan Hong Kong port container throughput monthly estimates

09:59/PHI: Dec Overseas Filipino Workers Remittances figures

09:59/CHN: Jan FDI Foreign Direct Investment

21:45/NZ: Jan Selected Price Index

All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.

Write to us at singaporeeditors@dowjones.com

We offer an enhanced version of this briefing that is optimized for viewing on mobile devices and sent directly to your email inbox. If you would like to sign up, please go to https://newsplus.wsj.com/subscriptions.

This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 15, 2026 16:30 ET (21:30 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.