New York — The market has closed as of March 1, 2026, 10:02 EST.
- Microsoft shares slipped on Friday, closing out a lackluster February for big tech.
- OpenAI’s latest blockbuster fundraising kept its main cloud partnership with Microsoft in place—though this round also introduced a new piece: Amazon is now in the mix.
- Markets are back Monday, facing Iran tensions and fresh U.S. jobs numbers.
Microsoft slipped 2.24% to finish Friday at $392.74, setting up a weaker start for the stock going into Monday’s U.S. trading. 1
Investors continued to pare back positions in tech and other growth names, following a volatile February that left artificial intelligence (AI) optimism tangled up with caution in the same basket. “Classic risk-off environment,” said Carson Group’s chief market strategist Ryan Detrick. The S&P 500 slipped 0.43%, while the Nasdaq lost 0.92% on Friday. 2
AI talk is swirling around Microsoft again, thanks to its close ties with OpenAI. On Friday, OpenAI disclosed plans to raise $110 billion in fresh funding, which would put the ChatGPT developer’s value at $840 billion. Big names in the round: Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank. An IPO is expected before year-end. OpenAI also confirmed that Microsoft Azure stays as its exclusive cloud for APIs. For enterprise AI “agents,” AWS steps in as the exclusive third-party cloud for OpenAI Frontier. Plus, OpenAI’s tapping 2 gigawatts of Amazon’s Trainium-backed computing power. 3
Markets wrapped up last week unsettled. Oil picked up steam amid renewed jitters over Middle East supply, while the debate over whether the AI rally has overshot kept traders uneasy. “Now it’s time for a breather,” said Talley Leger, chief market strategist at The Wealth Consulting Group, highlighting just how much optimism has already been baked into semiconductor stocks over the past year. 4
Friday brings the next big test for rate expectations. The U.S. February jobs report drops March 6, and economists polled by Reuters are looking for a 60,000 gain in payrolls—after a punchy showing in January. “The concern is that January is a one-off,” Paul Nolte, senior wealth adviser and market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest Wealth Management, told Reuters. Also on the docket: fresh reads on manufacturing and services, with retail sales numbers due March 6. Fed funds futures, a key barometer for where traders see rates going, are now pricing in the next cut for June or July. 5
Geopolitical tensions could overshadow the data docket. Following the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, analysts flagged a likely “knee jerk spike” in gold and oil prices, with risk assets potentially under pressure as markets open. 6
Microsoft’s shares hardly need a big-picture jolt lately. Investors, after months of weighing if the tech giant’s massive AI outlays will pay off in lasting earnings, have kept a close watch. In late January, the company’s quarterly numbers showed AI spending hitting all-time highs and cloud growth cooling—a combination that’s made Wall Street twitchy about even minor changes in demand or margins. 7
Right now, Microsoft’s in the thick of two major storylines: selling the cloud muscle behind AI, and pitching software designed to bring AI into daily office life. The stock, as a result, stands in for enterprise tech spending trends as well as how quickly AI infrastructure is coming together. Amazon remains tightly woven into that picture as a chief rival.
But that dynamic isn’t a one-way street. Should the OpenAI deal and revamped cloud partnerships cause workloads to shift, or if clients dial back after an initial AI spending rush, the market might rethink the growth narrative in a hurry. A strong jobs report or another jump in oil—anything that stokes inflation fears—could push bond yields higher and weigh on big tech stocks.
Microsoft’s next hurdle is right around the corner: first, the stock opens Monday, March 2. Then eyes shift to the U.S. payrolls report hitting Friday, March 6. Traders are set to gauge how the shares respond to shifting rates and the broader risk mood, especially with the AI debate still front and center all week.
