New York, February 24, 2026, 13:23 EST — Regular session
U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 up about 0.9% near 6,897 as traders worked through a packed U.S. economic calendar. The Dow was up roughly 0.9% and the Nasdaq gained about 1.1%, while the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) — often called Wall Street’s fear gauge — fell to around 19.4. (Investing)
The data hit a market that has been jumpy about two things at once: whether the economy is cooling and whether prices stay sticky. That tension matters because it feeds directly into what investors expect from the Federal Reserve and, by extension, borrowing costs.
Housing and confidence numbers tend to move rate-sensitive stocks even when they look second-tier on paper. With policy headlines and tech in the mix, investors have been quick to shift positioning.
Tech led parts of the rebound. Advanced Micro Devices jumped 7.6% after agreeing to sell up to $60 billion of AI chips to Meta Platforms over five years, while Keysight Technologies surged 23.9% after forecasting second-quarter profit above estimates and Home Depot rose 3.3% after topping quarterly estimates and maintaining its annual outlook. President Donald Trump’s temporary global tariff of 10% took effect on Tuesday; he later referenced a 15% levy, but it was unclear when and if that would apply. “Yesterday’s reaction was so overdone,” said Ken Polcari, partner and chief market strategist at Slatestone Wealth. (Reuters)
On the data front, the Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 91.2 in February from a revised 89.0 in January. “Confidence ticked up in February, but remained well below last year’s peak,” said Dana Peterson, the board’s chief economist; the survey’s cutoff date was Feb. 17. (PR Newswire)
The expectations gauge rose to 72 but stayed well below 80 — a marker the Conference Board says can signal a recession ahead — for a 13th straight month, the Associated Press reported. Mentions of trade and politics increased, while references to labor-market conditions eased, the report said. (AP News)
Factory data did not help much. The Richmond Fed said its Fifth District composite manufacturing index fell to −10 in February from −6 in January, with shipments down to −13 and new orders slipping to −9; the local business conditions index dropped to −15. (Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond)
Housing indicators were mixed. The Federal Housing Finance Agency said its house price index rose 0.1% in December after a 0.4% increase in November; prices were up 1.8% from a year earlier. (Reuters)
A separate gauge still points to modest annual gains, but little real (inflation-adjusted) progress. S&P Dow Jones Indices said the Case-Shiller 20-city index was up 1.4% year-on-year in December and the national index rose 1.3%; “Two structural forces have reshaped the market over recent years: mortgage rates and inflation,” said Nicholas Godec of S&P Dow Jones Indices. (News Release Archive)
Wholesale data added another piece to the growth picture. U.S. wholesale inventories rose 0.2% in December and sales increased 1.0%, a report showed. (Reuters)
But the mood is not settled. Tariffs that lift input costs could complicate the inflation outlook, and the AI-driven disruption worries that fueled Monday’s slide can return quickly if big tech guidance disappoints or funding assumptions get challenged.
The next market test comes quickly: Nvidia reports quarterly earnings on Wednesday, a bellwether for confidence in Big Tech’s AI spending plans. “This earnings in particular is important because people are so concerned about AI spending – whether we’re in a bubble,” said Ivana Delevska, chief investment officer at Spear Invest. (Reuters)
