NEW YORK, Feb 28, 2026, 10:06 EST — The session has wrapped up.
- Apple dropped 3.2% Friday, closing at $264.18. The stock continued to slide after the bell.
- Investors reacted to a jump in wholesale inflation and fresh nerves over high-flying tech valuations.
- Attention shifts to Apple’s slate of product reveals slated for Monday. U.S. jobs numbers are still set for release on Friday.
Apple Inc shares fell 3.21% to finish Friday at $264.18, then slipped a further 0.24% in lighter after-hours activity following the 4 p.m. bell. In regular hours, the stock ranged from $262.89 up to $272.81, still trading short of its 52-week peak at $288.62, per Investing.com. Investing.com
Selling hit across U.S. equities, with investors reassessing just how much optimism is already priced into tech and AI-related names. The S&P 500 dropped 0.43% Friday, the Nasdaq slipped 0.92%. Nvidia gave up 3.5%, and the Philadelphia semiconductor index ended down 1.2%, according to Reuters. Reuters
New inflation numbers weren’t much comfort. The producer price index (PPI) for final demand climbed 0.5% in January, beating expectations for a 0.3% rise, Reuters reported. “There’s a real deep unease in markets about inflation and growth,” Adam Button, chief currency analyst at investingLive, said. Chris Low, chief economist at FHN Financial, flagged trade-services quirks in the data and noted “evidence of price moderation” elsewhere. Reuters
Right now, Apple’s calendar is taking the lead. CEO Tim Cook hinted at a “big week ahead,” tagging his post “Apple Launch.” According to MacRumors, the company’s putting out product announcements from Monday through Wednesday, wrapping up with a media “Special Experience” event scheduled for March 4 at 9 a.m. Eastern in New York, Shanghai, and London. Details? Still under wraps—Apple hasn’t shared what’s coming. MacRumors
Legal clouds are hovering too. Apple moved this week to have a federal judge toss out a proposed shareholder class action alleging it misled investors about both Siri’s AI chops and its compliance with an Epic Games-related injunction on app-store fees, according to Reuters. “It is no secret that Apple faced challenges,” the company said in its motion. Plaintiffs, meanwhile, claim investor losses tied to the case may run into “hundreds of billions of dollars.” Reuters
Questions around what “AI” actually means for Apple’s iPhone-heavy profit engine—beyond the obvious chip and software plays—are still swirling for investors. That uncertainty? It’s baked right into the sharp swings seen in the megacaps.
The setup’s a double-edged sword. Stretch a launch over several days, and sure, you get more eyes and hedging in the options market. But there’s risk too—if the news feels incremental or the pitch falls flat, the stock’s left hanging, especially now with growth and rate jitters running high.
Macro’s set to take center stage next week, with the February U.S. jobs report slated for Friday, March 6. According to Reuters, anxiety over fresh AI headlines lingers—tech stocks could move sharply on any surprise, and the “winners and losers” conversation among strategists hasn’t died down. “The U.S. equity market is sort of in its late cycle,” BNY Americas macro strategist John Velis said, noting traders are keenly watching for data that might shift rate bets. Reuters
Trading picks up again Monday. For Apple, eyes are on product news and the March 4 media event—those are the next key moments for the company. After that, attention shifts to the U.S. jobs report coming out March 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET. bls.gov
