GLOBAL MARKETS-Stocks inch lower; yields fall as US CPI data cooler than expected

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Wall Street indexes were slightly lower in choppy trading while Treasury yields fell on Friday as investors digested cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation data for January that some saw as underpinning hopes for interest rate cuts.

The U.S. dollar was nearly flat against other currencies.

The report showed the U.S. Consumer Price Index rose 2.4% on a yearly basis, slightly below the estimated 2.5% increase, according to economists polled by Reuters. The news boosted bets that the Federal Reserve will deliver at least two rate cuts this year.

The data followed a surprisingly strong U.S. employment report on Wednesday. The Fed last month left its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range.

Tim Holland, CFA and chief investment officer at Orion in Omaha, Nebraska, said the U.S. CPI is now closer to the Fed's long-term inflation target of 2% than it is to 3%.

"We wonder if market participants might recalibrate their expectations around 2026 interest rate cuts, while we hope falling gasoline and car prices put a bit of a spring in the U.S. consumer's step. Either way, it is a bit of good news as we head into the long holiday weekend," Holland said.

On Wall Street, all three of the major stock indexes were slightly lower late in the session after trading higher for most of the day. The potential for artificial intelligence‑driven disruption in the technology space has remained a concern.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 33.82 points, or 0.07%, to 49,418.16, the S&P 500 .SPX fell 6.56 points, or 0.10%, to 6,825.94 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC fell 83.80 points, or 0.37%, to 22,513.35.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS fell 0.41 points, or 0.04%, to 1,044.81.

European shares ended down slightly amid the AI concerns. The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed 0.13% lower at 617.7 points. However, it capped a turbulent week with a marginal gain of 0.09%.

While the dollar was little changed, bitcoin BTC= was sharply higher, gaining 4.94% to $69,049.69.

The dollar index =USD, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.03% to 96.90, with the euro EUR= down 0.01% at $1.1869.
Against the Japanese yen JPY=, the dollar strengthened 0.01% to 152.75.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes US10YT=RR fell 5 basis points to 4.054%, from 4.104% late on Thursday.

Aluminum prices sank to a one-week low before cutting their losses. Weighing on the prices was a Financial Times report that U.S. President Donald Trump plans to scale back some tariffs on steel and aluminum goods, citing people familiar with the matter.

Oil prices settled up slightly, while gold rose as the soft inflation data supported hopes for the Fed to cut rates.