New York, Feb 26, 2026, 13:09 EST — Regular session
- Dow edges lower, with investor appetite for big tech valuations fading once more
- Nvidia and Caterpillar drag down the price-weighted index.
- With jobless claims holding steady, traders are zeroing in on Friday’s inflation data.
By 12:57 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) had dropped 231 points, or 0.47%, sitting at 49,251 after dipping briefly to 49,237. The S&P 500 slipped around 1.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite retreated about 1.8%. The Dow wrapped up Wednesday at 49,482.15. 1
Investors knocked the index lower, with mega-cap tech names getting hit again—despite Nvidia topping quarterly targets and projecting bullish sales. Shares of Nvidia dropped roughly 4.5%. “There is still some froth in the market,” said Jake Johnston at Advisors Asset Management. 2
There wasn’t much comfort in the latest economic numbers. Jobless claims ticked up by 4,000 to 212,000, while continuing claims fell, underscoring a labor market that’s holding firm but not easing quickly. That’s left traders arguing over the timing of the Fed’s first rate cut. 3
Nvidia posted a 94% jump in revenue to $68.13 billion and is projecting sales of roughly $78 billion for the current quarter, give or take 2%, LSEG data cited by Reuters shows. CEO Jensen Huang told analysts on the earnings call, “This new way of doing computing is not going to go back.” CFO Colette Kress added, the company plans to “keep investing in the artificial-intelligence (AI) ecosystem.” 4
The Dow took a straight shot from that pressure. Since the blue-chip index is price-weighted, those pricier stocks move the needle more—every $1 swing in a Dow component translates to about 6 points up or down. According to MarketWatch, Nvidia and Caterpillar together knocked 182 points off the Dow in Thursday’s drop. 5
Energy shares found some traction. Brent crude tacked on about $1.17, settling at $72.02 per barrel. U.S. WTI climbed 87 cents to $66.29, with the market watching as U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations rolled into a third round in Geneva. Analyst Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group warned a deal could be “very bearish for prices,” given the risk of extra oil hitting the market. 6
Software stocks split directions. Salesforce, betting on fresh AI tools to boost growth, projected fiscal-2027 revenue that fell short of analysts’ targets and set out a $50 billion buyback plan. Valoir CEO Rebecca Wettemann said the real test for Salesforce is converting its initial AI momentum into “broader enterprise adoption.” 7
Even so, the Dow’s path has been anything but smooth, whipsawing traders on both ends. Should tech’s slump pick up speed, a few heavyweight names could drag the index down in a hurry. Flip the script—if oil tumbles on the back of progress in negotiations, that energy buffer could vanish just as quickly.
Next up, investors are eyeing January’s U.S. producer price index, set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday. The factory-gate inflation gauge lands after Thursday’s labor figures left the rate outlook muddy. 8
