{"id":58673,"date":"2026-02-17T17:09:39","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T21:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/dowjonestodaydow-jones-inches-higher-as-apples-ai-optimism-counters-retail-weakness\/58673\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T17:09:39","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T21:09:39","slug":"dowjonestodaydow-jones-inches-higher-as-apples-ai-optimism-counters-retail-weakness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/dowjonestodaydow-jones-inches-higher-as-apples-ai-optimism-counters-retail-weakness\/58673\/","title":{"rendered":"[DowJonesToday]Dow Jones Inches Higher as Apple\u2019s AI Optimism Counters Retail Weakness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/indices\/dowjones\/today\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Dow Jones Today\">Dow Jones<\/a> Industrial Average (^DJI)<\/strong> was up <strong>32.26 (0.0652%)<\/strong> points today, closing at <strong>49,533.19<\/strong> as the market returned from the <strong>Presidents&#39; Day<\/strong> holiday weekend. <strong>Dow Futures (YM=F)<\/strong> were also up <strong>15.00 (0.0303%)<\/strong> points. Trading remained choppy as investors balanced a significant rebound in the technology sector against mounting concerns regarding the health of the American consumer. The primary narrative driving the session was a renewed focus on <strong>Artificial Intelligence (AI)<\/strong> monetization and upcoming retail earnings, which created a stark divide between growth-oriented stocks and defensive consumer staples.<\/p>\n<p>Leading the blue-chip index higher was <strong>Apple (<a href=\"\/stock\/AAPL\">AAPL<\/a>)<\/strong>, which surged <strong>3.08%<\/strong> to <strong>$263.75<\/strong>. The rally was sparked by <strong>Wedbush<\/strong> analysts reiterating an <strong>&quot;Outperform&quot;<\/strong> rating and a <strong>$350<\/strong> price target, citing the massive potential of the company&#39;s upcoming <strong>Siri AI<\/strong> platform. This optimism spread to other financial and tech-adjacent names, including <strong>American Express (<a href=\"\/stock\/AXP\">AXP<\/a>)<\/strong>, which gained <strong>2.37%<\/strong>, and <strong>Visa (<a href=\"\/stock\/V\">V<\/a>)<\/strong>, which rose <strong>1.85%<\/strong>. Financial heavyweights like <strong>Goldman Sachs (<a href=\"\/stock\/GS\">GS<\/a>)<\/strong> also finished in the green, up <strong>1.31%<\/strong>, as investors bet on continued institutional support for the AI transition.<\/p>\n<p>Conversely, the index faced a heavy drag from <strong>Walmart (<a href=\"\/stock\/WMT\">WMT<\/a>)<\/strong>, which plummeted <strong>3.73%<\/strong> to <strong>$128.77<\/strong>. The retail giant\u2019s decline comes just two days before its <strong>Q4 earnings<\/strong> report, as analysts warned of a potential slowdown in comparable sales and &quot;discouraged&quot; consumer sentiment. This weakness permeated the industrial and retail sectors, with <strong>3M (<a href=\"\/stock\/MMM\">MMM<\/a>)<\/strong> falling <strong>2.56%<\/strong> and <strong>Home Depot (<a href=\"\/stock\/HD\">HD<\/a>)<\/strong> dropping <strong>2.12%<\/strong>. Additionally, <strong>Salesforce (<a href=\"\/stock\/CRM\">CRM<\/a>)<\/strong> shed <strong>2.51%<\/strong> as the market rotated out of software names that have struggled to prove immediate AI-driven revenue growth today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was up 32.26 (0.0652%) points today, closing at 49,533.19 as the market returned from 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