Cisco helps drag Wall Street lower as investors try to separate AI winners from losers

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are under pressure Thursday as the market splits further between perceived winners and losers from the rush into artificial-intelligence technology.

The S&P 500 fell 0.6%, even though more stocks rose than fell in the index. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 53 points, or 0.1%, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.1% lower.

AppLovin helped drag the market lower and fell 18.7% despite reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Like other software companies, it’s come under pressure recently from worries that AI-powered competitors will steal customers.

AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi pushed back on the worries, saying in a conference call with analysts that indicators show his company is doing well. “There’s a real disconnect between market sentiment and the reality of our business,” he said.

Its stock nevertheless worsened its loss for the young year so far, which came into the day at 32.2%.