CNBC Daily Open: Muted U.S. CPI and cooling tensions with Iran give investors some comfort

The U.S. consumer price index on Friday stateside provided some balm to investors, who have been singed by drops in the market because of artificial intelligence-related fears. Consumer inflation for January rose 2.4% on a year-on-year basis, lower than the 2.7% in December, and returning to where it was after President Donald Trump fired off tariffs globally in April 2025. Core CPI came in at 2.5%, the lowest since April 2021. Economists were expecting 2.5% for both figures.

"This should be welcome news for markets, and the presumptive incoming Fed Chair Kevin Warsh," said Phil Blancato, Osaic chief market strategist. "This is only one month's worth of data, but if the trend continues it should pave a path for lower interest rates and reined in inflation."

U.S. markets, however, on Friday made only tentative steps in either direction, perhaps still unsure of where to move amid uncertainty about the effects of AI on companies. All major indexes ended the week in the red.

Another source of comfort for investors — and everyone else, really — are signs of cooling tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Both countries will be having their second round of talks on Tuesday in Geneva, Tehran's Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi told the BBC, adding that the Iran is ready to discuss restricting its nuclear program for lighter sanctions and economic benefits for both sides.

Meanwhile, Japan's economy expanded 0.1% in the last three months of 2025 on a quarter-on-quarter basis, reversing a 0.6% contraction in the third quarter. However, gross domestic product growth still missed the 0.4% expansion expected by a Reuters poll of economists.

— CNBC's Sean Conlon, Pia Singh, Lim Hui Jie and Jeff Cox contributed to this report.

Data center might have to 'internalize' costs, said Peter Navarro, the Trump administration's trade and manufacturing adviser. Navarro did not detail what the White House's plan to force data center builders to absorb costs would look like. 

Epstein files fallout: The recent release by the U.S. Department of Justice of emails and other documents related to sex predator Jeffrey Epstein has led to a wave of resignations of high-profile people around the world whose dealings with him have been exposed.

Warner Bros. may reopen sale talks with Paramount, reported Bloomberg News on Sunday, citing unnamed sources. Last week, Paramount improved its offer, saying it would add a ticking fee of 25 cents a share for any delay in regulatory approval of the deal.

The S&P 500 was mostly flat, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.22% on Friday. The pan-European Stoxx 600 dropped 0.13%, with L'Oreal and Delivery Hero falling roughly 4%.

[PRO] Consumer staples are rallying in 2026 as investors rotate out of tech names. The sector is the third best-performing in the S&P 500 year to date, behind materials and energy — here's what is driving it.

Markets brace for more AI noise and 'scare trading'

AI disruption jitters have ripped through global stock markets over the last couple of weeks, with sectors across the spectrum ending up in the crosshairs of investors looking to bet on which industry could be upended by the inevitable wave of agentic AI.

There will almost certainly be more of these moments this week, as some of the biggest names in AI take to the stage at the AI Impact Summit in India. Headliners include Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Microsoft's Brad Smith, Mistral AI co-Founder Arthur Mensch and Meta's Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang.

— Leonie Kidd