US markets today: Wall Street holds firm, Lululemon jumps on CEO exit; AI stocks slip with Broadcom

Most US stocks rose on Friday even as artificial-intelligence names came under renewed pressure, keeping Wall Street’s benchmark indices near record highs, AP reported.The S&P 500 dipped 0.1% in early trade, retreating slightly from its all-time high, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 103 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.4% as selling in technology stocks offset broader market strength.Broadcom shares dropped nearly 6% after concerns about its sales outlook and margin pressures overshadowed record quarterly revenue from the chipmaker and AI heavyweight. A day earlier, Oracle’s stock had slumped more than 10% after reporting a jump in capital spending that exceeded analyst expectations.Despite billions of dollars continuing to pour into AI infrastructure, doubts around the sector kept technology as the only major laggard in early US trade,.Lululemon Athletica was among the strongest performers, rising nearly 10% after posting strong third-quarter sales and profit and announcing that CEO Calvin McDonald will step down at the end of January. The company has launched a search for his successor.In Europe, Germany’s DAX inched up 0.1% and France’s CAC 40 gained 0.5%, while the UK’s FTSE 100 was unchanged.Asian markets largely advanced. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.4% to 50,836.55 ahead of next week’s Bank of Japan policy meeting, where an interest-rate increase is expected. SoftBank Group climbed 3.9%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.8% and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.4%, with state media noting that China’s annual Central Economic Work Conference prioritised reversing the investment slowdown and boosting consumption for 2026.Elsewhere, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.2%, South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.4%, Taiwan’s Taiex rose 0.6% and India’s Sensex climbed 0.5%.US benchmark crude slipped 8 cents to $57.52 a barrel, while Brent crude fell 11 cents to $61.17.