New York, February 25, 2026, 13:12 EST — Regular session.
- The S&P 500 and Nasdaq climbed to their highest levels in two weeks, tech stocks out front as traders looked ahead to Nvidia earnings set for release after the bell.
- Chip stocks led gains, but a patchwork of corporate outlooks left the broader mood unsettled.
- Investors looked ahead to new catalysts, with tariff uncertainty lingering in the background.
U.S. stocks advanced Wednesday, sending both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to their highest levels in two weeks, as megacap tech names rallied ahead of Nvidia’s earnings due out later. By 11:44 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 212.40 points, or 0.43%. The S&P 500 gained 46.01, or 0.67%, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 244.31 points, up 1.07%. Nvidia shares popped 2.2%, helping lift the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index to an all-time high. Options markets had been pointing to about a 5.6% swing in Nvidia post-earnings, reflecting bets on volatility. BNY’s Bob Savage described the setup simply: “focus on AI will continue” with the report. (Reuters)
This month has brought sharp moves in U.S. stocks, with investors juggling big bets on artificial intelligence spending alongside worries that those same breakthroughs might gut traditional industries. Nvidia, for now, remains the prime barometer for both narratives.
Then there’s the policy noise. Tariffs are back in the news cycle, and instead of relying on macro data, traders are turning to company guidance to fill in the blanks.
Stocks snapped back Tuesday, the Nasdaq climbing 1.05% as semiconductors paced gains following Monday’s drop. “Day-to-day movements” are likely, said Matthew Keator of the Keator Group, while investors keep hashing out whether AI will help or hurt businesses. Advanced Micro Devices lent some firepower, announcing plans to supply Meta Platforms with as much as $60 billion in AI chips over five years. Anthropic announced new plug-ins in collaboration with Thomson Reuters, Salesforce, and FactSet. (Reuters)
Shares of Axon Enterprise surged over 19% after the company topped quarterly profit forecasts, driven by strong demand for its security devices and software. “There is a major opportunity across federal law enforcement,” president Joshua Isner told analysts. Axon also flagged ongoing growth into 2026. (Reuters)
Lowe’s shares slipped roughly 5% after the company’s 2026 sales and profit forecast came in under Wall Street’s expectations—a much cooler outlook compared to Home Depot. CEO Marvin Ellison pointed to “unpredictable tariffs” and stubbornly high interest rates as problems weighing on the business. Emarketer’s Zak Stambor added that things could remain “uneven” if the housing market doesn’t pick up. (Reuters)
GoDaddy shares dropped after the company projected full-year revenue that missed forecasts and cautioned about a lag in uptake of its AI offerings for small businesses. Rival Wix has been turning up the heat, pushing its “Airo” platform that automatically generates logos, websites, and marketing materials from whatever customers already have online. (Reuters)
Consumer confidence picked up in February, yet more Americans told the Conference Board that jobs felt “hard to get”—the highest that reading’s been in five years, which isn’t much comfort for the labor market. Dana Peterson, chief economist at the group, noted that respondents’ comments “skew towards pessimism,” with complaints circling prices, trade, and politics. All this came as the White House’s temporary 10% global tariff kicked in following a Supreme Court decision overturning previous duties, raising fresh uncertainty for import-heavy companies. (Reuters)
Some investors argue the market’s focus on worst-case AI disruption scenarios is overblown, especially with most earnings—outside the mega-caps—remaining resilient. Darrell Cronk, chief investment officer for Wealth & Investment Management at Wells Fargo, called on investors to “balance” those risks against “offsetting trends,” as the 10-year Treasury yield lingered near 4.03%. (AP News)
Still, that calm isn’t guaranteed. Should Nvidia signal weaker spending ahead, or if clients hint at scaling back data-centre budgets, nerves could resurface fast. If tariffs linger and widen, margin pressure likely intensifies, stoking more inflation fears—especially for companies that rely on consumers.
Nvidia is set to report after Wednesday’s closing bell, while Salesforce and Snowflake are on deck as well, both expected to release their numbers and shed light on hardware appetite and software pricing strength. Eyes are also on Friday, Feb. 27, at 8:30 a.m. ET, when January’s producer price index (PPI) drops—a key read on factory-level inflation. (bls.gov)
