US STOCKS-Wall Street ends down as Nvidia slides and private equity stocks sink

By Noel Randewich

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Wall Street ended lower on Thursday, with losses in private equity companies and weakness in Walmart and Apple, while earnings-driven gains in industrials limited losses.

Private equity companies slid after Blue Owl Capital's OWL.N decision to sell $1.4 billion in assets and freeze redemptions at one of its funds to manage debt and return capital.

Apollo Global Management APO.N, Ares ARES.N, KKR & Co KKR.N and Carlyle Group CG.O all fell between 1.9% and 5.2% as Blue Owl's troubles added to recent worries about credit quality and lenders' exposure to software stocks. Blue Owl tumbled 6%.

Apple AAPL.O dipped 1.4%, weighing more than any other stock on the S&P 500.

Walmart dipped 1.4% after new CEO John Furner kicked off his tenure with a conservative fiscal 2027 forecast, as well as a $30 billion buyback plan.

AI-linked technology stocks have faced turbulence in recent months due to concerns about high valuations and limited evidence that massive investments in AI are driving revenue and profit growth.

Industries ranging from software to logistics have also been hit by concerns that rapidly improving AI tools could disrupt their business models and steepen competition.

"The market is trying to grapple with what business lines are under threat in a material way from AI. This technology is developing extraordinarily rapidly and days like today feel natural. We're at a moment in the cycle where you realize that not everyone's going to win and not all expectations are going to be met," said Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at GLOBALT Investments in Atlanta.

Deere & Co DE.N jumped 11.6% after the farm-machinery maker raised its annual profit forecast and beat first-quarter results estimates.

The S&P 500 declined 0.28% to end the session at 6,861.89 points.

The Nasdaq declined 0.31% to 22,682.73 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.54% to 49,395.16 points.

The S&P 500 energy index .SPNY added 0.6% as crude oil prices rose on mounting fears of a military conflict between the United States and Iran.

The S&P 500 financial index .SPSY declined 0.9%.

Omnicom OMC.N jumped 15% after the ad giant beat analysts' estimates for fourth-quarter revenue, while Carvana CVNA.O dropped almost 8% after the online used-car retailer missed fourth-quarter profit estimates.

Software provider EPAM Systems EPAM.N plunged 17% as its cautious first-quarter outlook disappointed investors.

Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting released on Wednesday showed policymakers remained split about the policy path later this year.

Investors were assessing Thursday's weekly jobless claims data that pointed to a stabilizing labor market, and will closely parse the Personal Consumption Expenditures report - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge - which is due on Friday, for hints on the Fed's rate outlook.

Interest-rate trades suggest a 50% likelihood the Fed will cut rates by its June policy meeting, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.

Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 .AD.SPX by a 1.5-to-one ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 27 new highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 62 new highs and 146 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 16.4 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 20.5 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.