Week Ending February 27, 2026
DJIA
48,977.92
-521 (-1.05%)
S&P 500
6,878.88
-30 (-0.43%)
NASDAQ
22,668.21
-210 (-0.92%)
Nvidia’s post-earnings selloff deepens amid AI
uncertainty; wholesale inflation surges as 10-year yield plunges below
4%
U.S. stocks tumbled Friday, capping a brutal week despite Nvidia’s
blockbuster earnings Wednesday. The Dow shed 521 points (-1.05%) to
48,977.92, while the S&P 500 fell 0.43% to 6,878.88 and the Nasdaq
dropped 0.92% to 22,668.21. For the week, the Dow lost 1.0%, the S&P
fell 0.9%, and the Nasdaq declined 2.0%—extending February’s selloff
as Nasdaq finished down over 3% for the month, its worst monthly
performance since March 2025.
Nvidia paradox deepens AI anxiety: Wednesday’s Q4
fiscal 2026 earnings crushed expectations—revenue hit $68.1B (+73%
YoY), data center revenue reached $62.3B (+75% YoY), and Q1 guidance
of $78B smashed the $73B consensus. Yet Nvidia shares fell 5.5%
Thursday in their worst day since April, then slid further Friday. The
stock closed the week down roughly 7%, erasing nearly all 2026 gains.
Investors questioned whether explosive growth justifies current
valuations at 22x forward earnings, and whether hyperscaler capex
(approaching $700B in 2026) represents a sustainable peak or an
imminent plateau. The AI bellwether’s struggles highlight mounting
skepticism: Can infrastructure spending maintain this trajectory, or
has the market front-run reality?
Block’s 4,000 layoffs intensify AI disruption fears:
Jack Dorsey announced Thursday that Block (Square, Cash App) is
cutting 4,000 employees—nearly half its 10,000-person
workforce—explicitly attributing the move to AI efficiency gains. “A
significantly smaller team, using the tools we’re building, can do
more and do it better,” Dorsey wrote, predicting most companies will
make similar cuts within a year. Block shares surged 24% after hours,
but the announcement sent shockwaves across software and financial
sectors. Alongside recent AI-driven layoffs at Pinterest, CrowdStrike,
and Chegg, Block’s move validates workers’ deepest fears about
white-collar displacement. The iShares software ETF (IGV) finished
February down 10%, bringing YTD losses to 23% as investors flee
companies viewed as vulnerable to AI disruption.
Inflation refuses to cooperate: January’s Producer
Price Index came in scorching hot Friday morning: headline PPI jumped
0.5% monthly (vs. 0.3% expected) and core PPI surged 0.8% (vs. 0.3%
expected)—the largest gain since July. Core PPI accelerated to 3.6%
YoY, well above the Fed’s 2% target. Trade services spiked 2.5%, with
professional equipment wholesaling margins jumping 14.4%, signaling
businesses are passing tariff costs to consumers. The data pushed
first-rate-cut expectations from July to September, with markets now
pricing just 40bp of cuts in 2026 (down from 65bp a week ago).
Flight to safety accelerates: Despite the inflation
shock, Treasury yields plunged as stagflation fears drove safe-haven
demand. The 10-year yield fell 11bp to 3.97%—below 4% for the first
time since November—while the 2-year dropped 10bp to 3.38%, its lowest
since August 2022. The 30-year fell 7bp to 4.63%. February marked the
strongest month for bonds in a year, with the 10-year down 25bp total.
Gold rallied 1.0% to $5,248/oz, silver surged 4% to $89.64/oz
(recovering from January’s epic crash), and Bitcoin fell 3% to $66,567
as risk-off sentiment dominated.
WEEKLY PERFORMANCE
| Index | Close | Weekly %Chg |
|---|---|---|
| Dow Industrials | 48,977.92 | -1.0% |
| S&P 500 | 6,878.88 | -0.9% |
| Nasdaq Comp | 22,668.21 | -2.0% |
| Russell 2000 | 2,632.36 | -1.7% |
TREASURY YIELDS
| Maturity | Yield | Weekly Chg (bp) |
|---|---|---|
| 2-Year | 3.38% | -10 |
| 10-Year | 3.97% | -11 |
| 30-Year | 4.63% | -7 |
COMMODITIES & CRYPTO
| Asset | Friday Close | Week Change |
|---|---|---|
| Gold (spot, oz) | $5,248 | +1.0% |
| Silver (spot, oz) | $89.64 | +4.0% |
| WTI Crude Oil | $66.52 | +2.3% |
| Bitcoin | $66,567 | -3.0% |
WEEKLY MOVERS
| Stock | Week % Change |
|---|---|
| Block (SQ) | +24.0%* |
| Netflix (NFLX) | +7.0% |
| AMD (AMD) | +8.8% |
| Nvidia (NVDA) | -7.0% |
| CoreWeave (CRWV) | -20.0% |
*After-hours
surge following layoff announcement
FEBRUARY SCORECARD
| Sector/Index | Month %Chg |
|---|---|
| Utilities (XLU) | +10.0% |
| Consumer Staples (XLP) | +8.0% |
| Nasdaq Composite | -3.2% |
| Software ETF (IGV) | -10.0% |
| Financials (XLF) | -4.0% |
WEEK AHEAD
- ISM Surveys (Mon/Tue): Manufacturing and Services PMI for February. Watch for tariff-related price pressures in components.
- Jobs Report (Fri): February nonfarm payrolls expected +185K. Critical after annual revisions erased 400K jobs from 2025.
- AI Earnings Aftershocks: Dell, Salesforce, CrowdStrike report. Will AI disruption narrative intensify or stabilize?
- Tariff Implementation: Trump’s 10% global tariff (Section 122) takes effect Monday. EU/China retaliation measures expected.
- Private Credit Watch: Continued fallout from Blue Owl, broader liquidity concerns in $1.7T market.
TERM OF THE WEEK
Producer Price Index (PPI): Measures the
average change in selling prices received by domestic producers for
their output, serving as a leading indicator of consumer inflation
since businesses typically pass wholesale cost increases to consumers.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases both headline PPI (all
goods/services) and core PPI (excluding volatile food and energy).
This week’s January report shocked markets with a 0.8% monthly core
surge—the largest since July 2025 and far above the 0.3% forecast. The
jump, driven by a 14.4% spike in professional equipment wholesaling
margins and 2.5% increase in trade services, signaled businesses are
aggressively passing tariff costs downstream. The acceleration pushed
core PPI to 3.6% YoY (vs. 3.3% prior and 3.0% expected), well above
the Fed’s 2% target and casting doubt on Q1 rate-cut prospects. PPI
components directly feed into the Fed’s preferred Personal Consumption
Expenditures (PCE) inflation gauge, which is now expected to show a
0.5% monthly increase in January (implying 3.1% YoY vs. 3.0% prior).
The hot wholesale inflation data, combined with persistent
services-sector pricing power, suggests the Fed’s “higher for longer”
stance will extend through at least mid-2026 despite mounting
recession risks.
