New York, February 28, 2026, 12:54 AM EST — The market has closed.
The NYSE Composite slipped 30.40 points on Friday, wrapping up at 23,494.44—a drop of 0.13%. For the week, though, it edged up roughly 0.2% from the Feb. 20 close.
Friday brought another rough session for the major indexes. The Dow dropped 1.1%, the S&P 500 shed 0.4%, and the Nasdaq closed down 0.9%. Weekly numbers showed more red: Dow off 1.3%, S&P 500 down 0.4%.
The end of February saw investors pulled between two forces that seldom show up together: the turbulence of artificial intelligence and persistent inflation. “Classic risk-off,” said Carson Group’s Ryan Detrick, summing up a stretch where money shifted toward safer bets while riskier growth stocks got cut back. CME’s FedWatch tool put odds the Fed keeps its 3.50%-3.75% target unchanged this March at roughly 94%. Reuters
The Labor Department reported a 0.5% jump in the Producer Price Index (PPI) for January, putting wholesale inflation 2.9% above where it stood a year ago. Ben Ayers, senior economist at Nationwide, pointed to wider margins as a factor that might push consumer prices higher, adding he thinks the Fed will “remain on pause” for its March meeting. Reuters
Jitters resurfaced in credit markets. UK mortgage lender Market Financial Solutions Ltd’s collapse sent a shock through lenders and alternative-asset players connected to its loan book—Barclays, Jefferies, Santander, and Wells Fargo all appeared in court filings and the report. “We’re starting to continue to see these types of things pop up,” said Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading. Reuters
Block is slashing over 4,000 positions—close to half its staff—aiming to weave AI more deeply through its business. CEO Jack Dorsey told employees, “a significantly smaller team using the tools can do more and do it better.” The shares surged, with investors taking in both the price of layoffs and the potential upside of a trimmer company. Reuters
Dell Technologies shares jumped, lifted by a forecast that AI server revenue will hit $50 billion in fiscal 2027—twice the current level. The company also rolled out a 20% dividend boost and tacked on another $10 billion to its buyback program. J.P. Morgan’s Samik Chatterjee and his team flagged “more flexibility” in how Dell manages its operating margin. Still, Dell is wrestling with the same uptick in memory costs that’s been hitting HP and Lenovo. Reuters
Oil prices jumped, with Brent climbing 2.45% to settle at $72.48 a barrel. U.S. crude ended the day at $67.02 as traders kept a close eye on U.S.-Iran developments. On the rates side, the 10-year Treasury yield dipped down to 3.96%. “Semiconductors had priced in a lot of good news,” said Talley Leger, chief market strategist at The Wealth Consulting Group. “Time for a breather.” Reuters
Next week’s calendar is heavy, with survey data and labor numbers landing in rapid succession. Monday brings the ISM manufacturing report, a key gauge for factory conditions. Then, on Wednesday, markets get ADP’s private payrolls reading and ISM services. U.S. jobs numbers follow Friday. S&P Global points to PMI surveys and payrolls as critical signals for whether a slowdown in the U.S. is setting in.
The February payrolls numbers hit on March 6, with a Reuters survey pointing to 60,000 jobs added—well below January’s 130,000. Unemployment holds at 4.3%. Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man Group, says it’s still tough to call which firms will actually benefit or lose out from AI—there’s “very little definitive” right now. Broadcom drops earnings Wednesday. Best Buy and Target are also due as the earnings rush slows. Reuters
Still, it’s a two-way street. A hot inflation read or a jobs number that tops forecasts might shove rate-cut bets even further down the road, dragging on stocks that lean on looser policy. On the other hand, new AI news keeps tossing software and chip names, reviving concerns about what companies will actually spend.
Stocks are back open Monday, and traders are watching to see if last week’s defensive push on the New York Stock Exchange holds through March. The next big event is Friday’s jobs report, set for March 6 — one number with the power to shift rate bets and set the tone for trading.
