Technology 17 February 2026

Mastercard shares rose 0.9% to $523.31 Tuesday after the company and Cloudflare announced plans to develop joint cyber-defense tools for small businesses and critical infrastructure. The move comes as payments stocks tracked higher and traders awaited Friday’s U.S. PCE inflation report for signals on rates and consumer demand. Visa and American Express outpaced Mastercard, gaining 1.9% and 2.3% respectively.

Lam Research shares fell 0.3% to $234.84 Tuesday amid renewed volatility in chip stocks as investors questioned the durability of AI-driven equipment orders. The company last posted December-quarter revenue of $5.34 billion, with 35% from China, and guided March revenue to $5.70 billion plus or minus $300 million. COO transition is set for March 6. The next dividend record date is March 4.

Cisco shares rose 0.2% to $76.98 late Tuesday morning after last week’s selloff. The company faces margin pressure from higher memory-chip costs, with non-GAAP gross margin forecast at 65.5%–66.5% this quarter. Cisco reported $2.1 billion in AI infrastructure orders and raised its dividend to $0.42 per share.

Broadcom shares recovered from an early 2.6% drop, trading down 0.1% at $325.00, as chip stocks fell and investors tracked new UK court filings over VMware licensing. The iShares Semiconductor ETF slid 1.5%, Nvidia dropped 1.2%, and AMD lost over 4%. Broadcom will report fiscal first-quarter results on March 4. Traders also watched bond yields ahead of the Fed’s January meeting minutes.

Nvidia shares fell 1.3% to $180.46 Tuesday morning as investors grew cautious ahead of next week’s earnings report. Citi reiterated a Buy rating and raised revenue forecasts, while chip peers AMD, Broadcom, and Taiwan Semiconductor also declined. Nvidia will release quarterly results Feb. 25 and hold its annual GTC conference March 16-19 in San Jose.

Amazon shares fell 0.9% to $196.98 Tuesday morning amid concerns over its $200 billion AI infrastructure spending plan for 2026. Investors questioned whether heavy capex would deliver returns, especially after Amazon forecast first-quarter operating income below Wall Street estimates. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also opened lower as traders tracked U.S.-Iran nuclear talks.

Apple shares fell 0.1% to $255.49 in premarket trading Tuesday after a 2.3% drop last session. Investors are watching for the February 20 U.S. inflation report and Apple’s March 4 product launch. The company’s market value has dropped about $256 billion since January. Apple’s annual shareholder meeting is set for February 24.

Fastly shares fell 1.3% to $18.02 in premarket trading Tuesday, pulling back after last week’s surge following strong fourth-quarter results and raised 2026 guidance. Zacks upgraded the stock to “Buy,” citing rising earnings estimates. Traders are watching if Fastly can hold above $18 as U.S. markets reopen after the holiday.