Equity Index Futures Pre-Bell Down as Investors Balk Amid Inflation Report, Tech Worries

08:55 AM EST, 02/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Investors were cautious pre-bell Friday as the recent downturn in tech stocks roiled world markets.

Dow Futures were down 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%, and Nasdaq futures were 0.3% lower.

January CPI cooled to 2.4% year-on-year from 2.7% in December, with the core inflation reading edging down to 2.5% y/y from 2.6% previously.

The downward drift followed broad losses a day earlier. Markets are down in part over worries about the profitability of the AI technologies upon which many leading companies have bet their futures, raising concerns of a tech bubble.

Oil prices were also lower, with benchmark Brent crude down 0.2% to $67.39 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate 0.3% lower to $62.68.

World markets were also in the red. Japan's Nikkei 225 was down. 1.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.7%, and the Shanghai composite was 1.3% lower.

Europe was also trending lower in the afternoon trading session, with the UK's FTSE 100 flat and Germany's Dax down 0.1%

Among premarket winners was Rivian Automotive (RIVN) , with its shares up around 20% after an earnings report Thursday showed narrowing losses. Several analysts upgraded its shares.

Shares of Coinbase (COIN) were up 4.9%, recouping losses from a day earlier.

Pinterest (PINS) shares were down 20% after it missed its quarterly revenue target and suffered a number of downgrades by analysts.

Wendy's (WEN) shares were down more than 6% after its fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings projections fell short of analyst expectations.

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