NEW YORK, Feb 15, 2026, 13:05 EST — Market closed.
- Cloud-focused ETFs closed out Friday roughly 2.6% higher, with SKYY out in front.
- Cloud and software stocks got a lift after U.S. inflation data came in softer and Treasury yields slipped.
- With the week shortened by the holiday, traders are eyeing the Fed minutes and the PCE inflation report.
Cloud stocks bounced on Friday, with three major cloud-focused ETFs each tacking on roughly 2.6% ahead of the U.S. holiday. First Trust Cloud Computing ETF settled at $114.26, WisdomTree’s WCLD wrapped at $28.19, and Global X’s CLOU ended at $19.62. U.S. equity markets will stay closed Monday, back in action Tuesday.
The shift is notable—cloud and software stocks have turned into a barometer for both rate expectations and the threat AI could pose to their subscription models. Markets are shut for the holiday, so eyes turn to Tuesday’s open for clues: was Friday a turning point, or just a breather?
Investors tend to price cloud and SaaS stocks off cash flows projected far down the road. Falling yields have made those distant dollars look more appealing. The opposite’s true when yields spike—the numbers just don’t add up the same. This month, it’s been a recurring theme.
U.S. consumer prices climbed 2.4% in January from the previous year, Friday’s data showed—just shy of the 2.5% pace economists had expected. Benchmark Treasury yields slipped, with the 10-year finishing near 4.05%, down 5.6 basis points (each basis point equals one-hundredth of a percentage point). “Either way, it is a bit of good news as we head into the long holiday weekend,” said Tim Holland, chief investment officer at Orion. Reuters
Caution lingered on Wall Street. The Nasdaq dropped 0.22% Friday, with the other two major U.S. indexes also notching losses for the week—even after those softer inflation numbers. According to Reuters, the S&P 500 software and services index managed a 0.9% gain, but the broader S&P 500 tech sector ended down 0.5%. “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
SKYY follows the ISE CTA Cloud Computing index, blending infrastructure companies and SaaS—software that runs online. As of Friday, CoreWeave and Arista Networks topped the holdings list, trailed by Alphabet, MongoDB, and Nutanix. First Trust data shows no stock made up more than 4.5% of the portfolio.
Still, Friday’s rebound leaves a key issue hanging: what happens to enterprise cloud budgets if growth takes a hit, and do AI tools just become standard instead of something customers pay extra for? Should yields reverse, cloud shares could slide just as fast.
Markets open back up Tuesday, and from there, it’s a race: Fed officials are on deck, January meeting minutes arrive Wednesday, then Friday brings December’s PCE price index — still the inflation signal the Fed watches. Palo Alto Networks reports Tuesday, with more big tech earnings lined up later, potentially shifting views on enterprise appetite.
