New York, Feb 26, 2026, 10:02 (EST) — Regular session
Microsoft shares were up about 1% at $404.5 in early trading on Thursday, holding onto a rebound as investors sifted a fresh mix of AI and regulatory headlines around the company. (StockAnalysis)
That matters because Microsoft has been one of the weaker mega-cap tech names this year, down nearly 20% and drifting toward its 200-week moving average — a long-term trend line that some chart watchers treat as support. The stock is down about 28.5% from an October record close of $542.07, the same report showed. (MarketWatch)
With the shares already bruised, the market is jumpy on two fronts. One is what new AI bets can add to revenue. The other is what regulators and rising infrastructure costs could take away.
Microsoft ended Wednesday up 3% at $400.60, after trading as low as $390.16 and as high as $401.47, according to historical pricing data. (Investing.com)
Wayve, a London self-driving startup, said it raised $1.2 billion in a Series D round — a late-stage private fundraising — that included Microsoft, Nvidia and Uber and valued it at $8.6 billion. “We have a war chest… that demonstrates that we’ve got strength of balance sheet to not just launch products but maintain them in the market for decades,” CEO Alex Kendall told Reuters. Wayve has announced a robotaxi (driverless ride-hailing) deployment with Uber in London, where Alphabet-owned Waymo also plans to launch. (Reuters)
In Japan, the Fair Trade Commission raided Microsoft Japan’s offices as part of an investigation into whether the unit improperly restricted Azure customers from using rival cloud services, a person with direct knowledge told Reuters. Microsoft Japan said it is “fully cooperating with the JFTC in their requests,” and regulators in Britain, Europe and the U.S. have also been examining cloud-computing practices, Reuters reported. (Reuters)
In Washington, the White House said it will host Microsoft, Amazon, Anthropic and Meta on March 4 to formalize a pledge aimed at shielding consumers from rising power costs tied to data centers. Microsoft’s Brad Smith said the company appreciated the administration’s efforts to ensure data centers “don’t contribute to higher electricity prices for consumers,” while Harvard Law School’s Ari Peskoe called the pledge “meaningless” without contracts that allocate the costs to the centers. (Reuters)
More broadly, global shares hovered near record highs and Wall Street futures were little changed as traders digested Nvidia’s forecast and the latest wobble in AI sentiment. Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said the reaction to Nvidia was “perhaps a sign of investors’ increased anxiety over AI valuations.” (Reuters)
But the list of swing factors is long. A tougher line from regulators could force changes in how Microsoft packages or prices Azure services, while higher power bills and a bigger buildout could squeeze margins before new AI revenue shows up in a way the market wants to pay for.
Traders are watching for any follow-through from Japan’s watchdog and for clues on whether Microsoft signs onto the White House pledge on March 4.
