US Stocks Drift; Economic Reports Mixed02/20 09:06

   U.S. stocks are drifting on Friday after discouraging reports showing a 
combination of slowing growth for the economy and faster inflation created 
relatively few ripples in the market.

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks are drifting on Friday after discouraging 
reports showing a combination of slowing growth for the economy and faster 
inflation created relatively few ripples in the market.

   The S&P 500 fell 0.2% and is close to dropping to a third straight losing 
week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 175 points, or 0.4%, as of 9:35 
a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% lower.

   Treasury yields also did not move much in the bond market following the 
economic reports. While they were disappointing and underscored the tricky 
situation the Federal Reserve may be facing as it sets interest rates, the 
reports did not change traders' expectations much for what the Fed will 
ultimately do.

   One report said that the U.S. economy's growth slowed to a 1.4% annual rate 
during the end of 2025. That's down from a 4.4% burst during the summer and "a 
bummer of a number," according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at 
Annex Wealth Management.

   A second report said the measure of inflation that the Fed likes to use 
accelerated to 2.9% in December from 2.8% in November. An underlying measure 
that economists consider a better predictor of where inflation may be heading 
quickened to 3% from 2.8%.

   The Fed could lower rates to give the economy a boost, as it did last year 
and as President Donald Trump has been demanding, but that would risk worsening 
inflation. Fed officials said at their last meeting that they want to see 
inflation fall further before they would support cutting rates further.

   Following the reports, traders are still mostly betting that the Fed will 
lower rates at least twice by the end of this year, according to data from CME 
Group. But some shifted the timing for when the cuts could begin to slightly 
later in the summer.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.07% from 4.08% late 
Thursday. The two-year yield, which more closely tracks expectations for Fed 
action, held at 3.47%.

   On Wall Street, Akamai Technologies helped lead the market lower after 
falling 10.1%. The cybersecurity and cloud computing company reported stronger 
results for the end of 2025 than analysts expected, but it gave a profit 
forecast for the upcoming year that fell short of estimates.

   Akamai plans to spend a bigger percentage of its revenue this upcoming year 
on equipment and other investments. It's the latest potential indicator of how 
higher prices for computer memory amid shortages created by the AI boom is 
affecting customers throughout the economy.

   That helped offset a 5.6% gain for Comfort Systems after the provider of 
heating, ventilation air conditioning and electrical services reported a 
stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. CEO Brian Lane 
said his company is seeing "unprecedented demand."

   In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in Europe following a more 
mixed finish in Asia.

   The Hang Seng fell 1.1% after Hong Kong's market reopened following Lunar 
New Year holidays, but South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.3% to a record, led by 
major defense contractors like Hanwha Aerospace, whose shares soared 8.1%. The 
company is one of many benefiting from a ramp up in military spending in many 
countries.