NEW YORK, Feb 15, 2026, 12:59 ET — The market has closed.
- Friday saw Nvidia drop 2.2%. Dell, on the other hand, gained 4.1%, and Arista climbed 4.8%, with investors picking through the AI standouts and those trailing behind.
- U.S. markets are back open Tuesday following the Presidents Day break. Investors are eyeing Walmart earnings and some crucial economic reports later this week.
- Traders are eyeing high-multiple AI infrastructure stocks, gauging if yields and rate-cut wagers will remain in their favor.
Data center names finished the session with mixed results. Nvidia slid 2.2%. Dell Technologies picked up 4.1%, and Arista Networks tacked on 4.8%. Broadcom closed lower, off 1.8%, while Hewlett Packard Enterprise managed a 2.2% gain. Among power-and-cooling stocks, Vertiv dipped 0.8% and Eaton eased down 0.3%.
Two themes are driving the narrative around the AI trade as 2026 gets underway: churning sector leaders just beneath the major indexes, plus a relentless stream of “AI disruption” headlines that keep jolting certain stocks. Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth, called this period a “whack-a-mole” for storylines. Other strategists see growing splits between the stocks that have surged and those left behind. Reuters
Friday was choppy. The S&P 500 managed a small gain while the Nasdaq pulled back—even as U.S. inflation data landed softer than forecasts. Big tech and communications names dragged on both indexes; CME’s FedWatch tool showed traders tweaking expectations slightly higher for a quarter-point rate cut by June. “Large cap tech stocks continue to be an anchor on the market and any whiff of optimism continues to get rejected,” said Michael James, managing director at Rosenblatt Securities. Reuters
The data center story came across muddled, if recognizable—money flowed into segments of the buildout offering clearer paths to revenue in the short term, while the heavyweight chip stocks, still loaded with risk, saw more hesitation. Hardware isn’t trading as a single block at this point.
Part of this comes down to macro forces. Data centers eat up capital—these names feel rate shifts immediately. Drop yields and it’s a lift; a quick reversal and the hit lands just as fast.
Still, beneath the surface of the AI surge, one nagging concern lingers: costs are massive, rivals keep shifting, and the return on investment isn’t always straightforward. Should clients pull back or drag out projects, momentum could vanish in a hurry.
Walmart is set to release its quarterly earnings around 6 a.m. U.S. Central on Thursday, Feb. 19. A live conference call will kick off an hour later, at 7 a.m. Central.
Friday, Feb. 20, features the main macro event: the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its initial take on fourth-quarter GDP alongside the latest personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. Also expected that morning, the University of Michigan wraps up its final consumer sentiment reading for February.
