Financial Markets                      02/17 09:28

   

   NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stock indexes are drifting lower on Tuesday in their 
return to trading from a three-day holiday weekend.

   The S&P 500 fell 0.8% and was on track for a fourth loss in its last five 
days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 183 points, or 0.4%, as of 10 
a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% lower.

   General Mills sank 6.8% after the company behind the Cheerios, Nature Valley 
and Pillsbury brands said customers are feeling less confident. It cut its 
forecast for an underlying measure of profit for 2026, saying declines would 
likely be sharper than it earlier expected.

   Several surveys have recently shown weak confidence among U.S. households, 
which are struggling with inflation that remains high, a job market coming off 
a weak year of growth and worries about tariffs.

   Genuine Parts, which sells auto and industrial replacement parts, said it's 
"navigating a dynamic environment" while reporting weaker profit and revenue 
for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It also said it plans to split 
into two separate, publicly traded companies in early 2027, with one focusing 
on auto parts and the other on industrial parts. Its stock dropped 11.5%

   Helping to keep the market's losses in check was Warner Bros. Discovery. It 
rose 2.4% after saying it was trying to get the "best and final" buyout offer 
from Paramount, which is trying to top an offer to buy the entertainment 
company from Netflix.

   Paramount Skydance rose 7.2%, while Netflix fell 1.8%.

   Losses for some Big Tech stocks were the heaviest weights on the market 
Tuesday, including drops of 1.8% for Nvidia and 1.5% for Microsoft.

   Markets need such companies, which are Wall Street's most influential, to 
stabilize and "need to see less sell first/ask questions later behavior from 
investors," according to Sameer Samana, head of global equities and real assets 
at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

   Last week, Wall Street shook when stocks of software and other companies 
tumbled as investors hunted for companies that could be potential losers if 
artificial-intelligence technology ends up remaking the world and their 
industries.

   "Overall, the market is still close to records highs, but it may not feel 
that way to some investors because of the sharp sell-offs that seem to derail 
upswings almost as soon as they begin," according to Chris Larkin, managing 
director, trading and investing, at E-Trade from Morgan Stanley.

   Global fund managers, meanwhile, say they're worried that companies are 
pouring too many dollars into AI data centers and chips. They will need to see 
tremendous profits and productivity come out of their billions of dollars of 
investments to make it worth it.

   A survey of global fund managers by Bank of America found a record 
percentage is saying that companies are "overinvesting."

   In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady.

   The yield on the 10-year Treasury held at 4.04%, where it was late Friday.

   In stock markets abroad, indexes rose modestly in Europe following a quiet 
day in Asia, where most markets were closed for Lunar New Year holidays.

   Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4%. Weak economic data for Japan appeared to be 
clouding sentiment in Tokyo, and a 5.1% decline for tech giant SoftBank Group 
also pulled shares lower. The decline follows a big rally after a resounding 
win for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's ruling party in a Feb. 8 general 
election.

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   AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.

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