MILAN (AP) — An all-time great comeback and a controversial exclusion are dominating the Milan Cortina Olympics on Day 6.
Later Thursday, Chloe Kim of the United States seeks to become the first snowboarder to win three straight Olympic gold medals in women's halfpipe. And NHL players on the U.S. and Canada teams are joining the action in their opening men's hockey games.
For much of last year, it wasn't clear if Italian skier Federica Brignone could compete at her home Olympics at all, let alone contend for a medal.
She came away with gold in the women's super-G on Thursday, following a year spent largely in rehab after breaking multiple bones in her leg. She only returned to racing last month.
Brignone shrugged off difficult, foggy conditions to win her fourth career Olympic medal and become, at 35, the oldest female gold medalist in women’s Alpine skiing. Romane Miradoli of France took silver and Cornelia Huetter of Austria got bronze.
As the men's skeleton competition got under way, all the attention was on a Ukrainian athlete who wasn't on the track.
Vladyslav Heraskevych was barred from racing after refusing to give up his plan to race in a helmet commemorating athletes who have been killed since Russia invaded his country. The International Olympic Committee says it breaks rules against making statements on the field of play.
IOC President Kirsty Coventry turned up at the sliding track in a last-minute bid to change Heraskevych's mind ahead of the opening run of the competition Thursday morning.
Heraskevych, who had been a contender for the medals, refused and was excluded from the Olympics.
Heraskevych said it “looks like discrimination” to bar him from competing. Coventry, who said she'd hoped to find a compromise, was tearful on what she called an “emotional morning.”
In a big upset, Cooper Woods of Australia won freestyle skiing gold in men's moguls by edging Canadian great Mikael Kingsbury — the sport’s most decorated skier — on a tiebreaker.
American skier Jessie Diggins overcame bruised ribs to take bronze in the women's 10-kilometer cross-country skiing race. Frida Karlsson won her second gold medal of the Milan Cortina Games by leading a 1-2 finish for Sweden.
Later Thursday, Arianna Fontana of Italy will go for a record-extending 13th career Olympic medal in short-track speedskating, while medals will also be awarded in team luge, men's snowboard cross and 5,000-meter speedskating.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Australia's Cooper Woods competes during the men's freestyle skiing moguls finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Livigno, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych left, holds his crash helmet at the mixed zone of the sliding center at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Italy's Federica Brignone, gold medalist in an alpine ski, women's super-G race, waves to supporters at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are ticking higher Thursday and once again flirting with a record following mixed profit reports from big companies.
The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and was sitting a bit below its all-time high set late last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 260 points, or 0.5%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher.
Equinix jumped 11.6% even though the digital infrastructure company’s profit for the latest quarter came up short of analysts’ expectations. It gave financial forecasts for 2026 that topped analysts’, and CEO Adaire Fox-Martin said that “demand for our solutions has never been higher.”
The company’s data centers are helping to power the world’s move into artificial-intelligence technology, even if doubts are rising about whether all the investments will ultimately pay off in the form of higher profits and productivity for customers.
Chip company Nvidia rose less than 1%, but because the AI frenzy has helped it grow to become Wall Street's most valuable stock, it was the strongest single force lifting the S&P 500.
At the same time, some companies are feeling the downsides of that rush into AI.
AppLovin fell 12.8% even though it reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Like other software companies, it’s come under pressure from worries that AI-powered competitors will steal customers, and its stock came into the day with a loss of 32.2% for the young year so far.
Cisco Systems sank 7.3% despite likewise topping analysts’ expectations for profit and revenue last quarter. The tech giant indicated that it may make less profit off each $1 in revenue during the current quarter than it did in the past quarter.
Analysts said it could be an indicator of higher prices for computer memory that everyone is having to pay amid a rush driven by AI.
In the bond market, Treasury yields edged lower after a report said slightly more U.S. workers filed for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected.
Still, the number was lower than the prior week’s, which is a signal that the pace of layoffs may be improving. It also followed a surprisingly strong report on the job market from Wednesday, which said the nation’s unemployment rate improved last month.
A strengthening job market could push the Federal Reserve to keep its cuts to interest rates on pause, even if President Donald Trump has been loudly and aggressively calling for lower rates. That’s because lower rates can worsen inflation at the same time that it gives the economy a boost.
It all raises the stakes for Friday’s upcoming report on inflation at the U.S. consumer level. Economists expect it to show inflation eased to 2.4% last month from 2.7% in December.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 4.16% from 4.18% late Wednesday.
In stock markets abroad, South Korea’s Kospi rushed 3.1% higher thanks to gains for Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and other tech stocks. The moves were more modest in other Asian markets.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX returned 1.4%, and France’s CAC 40 rose 1%.
AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed.
Trader Edward McCarthy works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader Robert Charmak, left, and Specialist Genarro Saporito work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Trader John Romolo works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
