New York, Feb 16, 2026, 12:28 PM EST — Market closed
- With U.S. stock markets closed for Presidents Day, the next update on AI shares will have to wait until trading resumes Tuesday.
- AI stocks tied to the chip sector closed out last week on a mixed note—Applied Materials climbed, while Nvidia slipped.
- Next up: Nvidia posts results Feb. 25, with U.S. GDP numbers due Friday—both set to move the needle.
U.S. markets take a pause Monday for Presidents Day, putting a temporary hold on trading for AI-related stocks until Tuesday. (AP News)
After a volatile run for the AI trade, the pause arrives. Investors haven’t let go of the long-term demand narrative, but now, they’re paying closer attention to pricing in both the costs and the disruption.
Hyperscaler capex has shot up to $660 billion—roughly $120 billion more than it was just as earnings kicked off. That’s major spending on data centers, chips, and power. Goldman Sachs analysts point out: while capex is surging, S&P 500 buybacks are heading the other way, down 7% from a year earlier. (Reuters)
Nvidia (NVDA.O) dropped 2.2% to $182.81 on Friday. Broadcom (AVGO.O) also lost ground, down 1.8% at $325.17. Over in chip stocks, Applied Materials (AMAT.O) surged 8.0% to $354.91, while AMD (AMD.O) nudged up 0.7% to $207.32. Microsoft (MSFT.O) slipped 0.1%, closing at $401.32. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ.O), which tracks the Nasdaq, inched up by 0.2% to finish at $601.92.
Applied Materials threw out a rare clear signal late last week, projecting second-quarter revenue and profit that topped forecasts, thanks to AI-driven chip demand squeezing the memory market. CEO Gary Dickerson pointed to “the acceleration of industry investments in AI computing” as the driver behind their outlook. Morningstar’s William Kerwin described AI infrastructure demand as “immense”—with supply still hard to come by. Lam Research (LRCX.O) and KLA (KLAC.O) moved higher as well. (Reuters)
Still, the tape’s been anything but steady. The S&P 500 Software & Services index has lost nearly $2 trillion since topping out in October. About half that slide hit over just the last two weeks, driven by fresh doubts over how quickly AI breakthroughs could threaten the subscription model. “Sell first think later,” said Barclays equity strategist Emmanual Cau. (Reuters)
Policy is back in focus this week, with investors watching to see where the next big chunk of AI money ends up. India kicked off its AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on Monday, drawing executives from Alphabet’s Google, Microsoft, Amazon, OpenAI and Anthropic. The commitments are huge: Google, Microsoft and Amazon have already pledged a total of $68 billion through 2030 for AI and cloud infrastructure in India. (Reuters)
Nvidia is up next for U.S. markets, with its earnings on deck. The chipmaker announced a conference call for Feb. 25 at 5 p.m. ET to go over its fourth-quarter and fiscal 2026 financials, covering the stretch through Jan. 25. (NVIDIA Newsroom)
Rates are in play here as well. On Feb. 20 at 8:30 a.m. EST, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its advance estimate for both the fourth quarter and full-year 2025 gross domestic product—a data point watched for its potential to jolt Treasury yields and shake up growth stock valuations. (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
When cash equities start trading again Tuesday, traders will be eyeing whether the move away from mega-cap tech last week picks up any steam—or reverses course. Chip stocks, for their part, could react sharply to even small updates tied to data-center demand or spending plans.
There’s an obvious risk here: AI spending might taper off sooner than folks anticipate, while the “AI disruption” narrative keeps rattling segments of software and services. That combination, more often than not, drives investors to defensives, pulling cash out of high-multiple names.
Traders eye Tuesday’s open to see if the long weekend actually calmed nerves or merely postponed the next volatility spike. The lineup is tight—U.S. GDP hits Feb. 20, Nvidia’s results land Feb. 25.
