US equities fell sharply for a second straight session on Friday as investors reassessed speculative bets on major AI infrastructure names. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each declined 1%, while the Dow lost 1.5%.
AI-related stocks extended Thursday’s selloff, which began after analysts raised doubts about the durability of AI infrastructure spending following Nvidia’s earnings call. Nvidia slid another 2.5% after dropping 5.5% the previous day, and Broadcom, Oracle, and Microsoft also fell about 2.5%.
Defensive stocks were not spared, reflecting a broader rotation into long-duration Treasuries despite lingering worries over sticky inflation. Producer prices for January fell by less than expected, and the core measure unexpectedly rose.
Among notable movers, Dell jumped 16% on a strong outlook for AI server demand, while CoreWeave tumbled 15% after missing profit expectations. Netflix gained 9% after walking away from the bidding process for Warner Bros.
