US Equity Markets Lower Amid Decline in Software, Financial Stocks

03:59 PM EST, 02/12/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes ended lower Thursday amid concerns surrounding the impact of artificial intelligence on software and financial stocks and potential unemployment linked to the use of AI.

* US initial jobless claims fell to 227,000 in the week ended Feb. 7 from 232,000 in the previous week, compared with expectations for 223,000 in a Bloomberg compiled survey.

* The pace of US existing home sales fell by 8.4% to a 3.91 million seasonally adjusted annual rate in January from 4.27 million in December, compared with a 4.15 million rate in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, according to data from the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday.

* The probability of the Federal Reserve leaving interest rates unchanged at its next policy meeting in March rose to 94.1% from 79.9% a day ago, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

* March West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $1.74 to settle at $62.89 per barrel, while April Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $1.83 at $67.57.

* Equinix (EQIX) shares were roughly 12% higher after the company reported late Wednesday higher Q4 adjusted funds from operations and revenue.

* AppLovin (APP) shares fell nearly 19% after the company received several price-target downgrades from Wall Street firms such as Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan after the company released Q4 results overnight.

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