S&P 500 is little changed to start shortened week as software shares slide: Live updates

The S&P 500 was little changed on Tuesday as Wall Street struggles to regain its footing after yet another losing week.

The broad market index slid 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, rising 68 points, or 0.1%.

The New York Stock Exchange was closed on Monday in observance of Presidents’ Day.

The software sector is getting hit on fear artificial intelligence tools could replace industry-specific software providers. Salesforce shares were 1% lower, while Autodesk shares declined 2%. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) lost more than 1%, putting its year-to-date loss at 22%.

The S&P 500 is coming off its second consecutive losing week as fears about AI’s disruption hit industries such as software, real estate, trucking and financial services. Both the S&P 500 and blue-chip Dow lost more than 1% last week, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite lost more than 2%.

“The AI disruption vigilantes were at it again … with new targets,” said Daniel Skelly, head of the market research and strategy wealth management team at Morgan Stanley. “With the S&P 500 flattish for the year, the bull market has certainly paused, and given way to a bull market in ‘disruption hysteria.'”

The Dow and S&P 500 both logged their fourth losing weeks of the last five. The Nasdaq recorded its fifth straight negative week, its longest losing streak since 2022.

Those concerns appeared to overshadow the latest consumer price index reading released Friday. The headline CPI data came in softer than economists polled by Dow Jones predicted for January. That followed a better-than-expected jobs report earlier in the week.

Investors will get more insight into the path of inflation this week, with the personal consumption expenditure report slated for Friday. Before then, they’ll monitor Federal Reserve meeting minutes on Wednesday.