CNBC Daily Open: Weak U.S consumer spending spells caution

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe  here .

Markets rally
Wall Street ended Thursday higher, with the S&P 500 setting a new record high despite fresh data showing retail sales dropped 0.8% in January. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also saw a late-day rally, adding over 300 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3%.

Riding on Nvidia's success
A filing showed Nvidia took stakes in a handful of public companies. Shares of most of those artificial intelligence companies soared on Thursday, reflecting investors' strong interest to ride on Nvidia's AI growth story.

Forget Tesla look at Ford
Ford CEO Jim Farley told investors to forget about Tesla as the future of the auto industry, urging them to instead focus on Ford's "Pro" fleet business. "If you're looking for the future of the automotive industry, stop looking at FSD and Tesla. Look at Ford Pro. It's got half a million subscribers with 50% gross margin," he said.

Putin prefers Biden
Russian leader Vladimir Putin said Joe Biden would be a better president for Russian relations than Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. ″[Biden] is more experienced and more predictable. He is an 'old school' politician. But we will work with any U.S. leader, elected by the people of America," Putin said in an interview. 

[PRO] Asia's AI standouts
Given the artificial intelligence boom, Morgan Stanley picked stocks it called "underappreciated beneficiaries" in Asia-Pacific. The biggest share of AI beneficiaries in Asia and emerging markets were found in IT and communications, the bank said.

Americans