Velocitydrift

Nasdaq ends lower as Wall Street questions AI payoff Proactive Fri, February 27, 2026 at 5:18 AM GMT+8 10 min read In this article:

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^IXIC -0.92% ^GSPC -0.43% ^DJI -1.05%

Nasdaq ends lower as Wall Street questions AI payoff Proactive uses images sourced from Shutterstock

4:15pm: Nvidia earnings fail to spark rally

Wall Street wrapped up Thursday’s session on a mixed note, with tech stocks pulling back even as blue chips held their ground.

The Nasdaq slid 1.2%, falling 274 points to close at 22,878, pressured largely by weakness in megacap tech. The S&P 500 also drifted lower, shedding 37 points, or 0.5%, to finish at 6,909. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones managed to stay just in positive territory, inching up 17 points to 49,499. Small caps outperformed, with the Russell 2000 rising 0.5%, or 4 points, to 2,677.

The day’s spotlight was firmly on Nvidia. Despite delivering what many would call stellar earnings, the chip giant failed to impress a market that has grown increasingly hard to wow. Shares tumbled 5.5% by the close, as investors appeared to reassess just how quickly artificial intelligence investments will translate into tangible payoffs — and what disruptions may come along the way. The reaction suggests expectations around AI remain sky-high, leaving little room for even strong results to surprise to the upside.

Looking ahead, traders are bracing for another wave of corporate results after the bell, including reports from Dell Technologies, Intuit, Duolingo, CoreWeave and Block Inc..

On the economic front, initial jobless claims ticked up slightly, hinting at an economy that may be losing a bit of momentum. Investors are now turning their attention to Friday’s January wholesale inflation reading, which could play a key role in shaping expectations around the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates.

For now, the mood feels cautious — not panicked, but clearly more selective — as markets weigh strong corporate profits against bigger-picture concerns about growth, inflation and the real-world returns of the AI boom.

3:45pm: Proactive news headlines

New Era Energy & Digital (NASDAQ:NUAI) signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire 54 acres next to its Texas data center campus to support lease negotiations with a hyperscale tenant.
Ideal Power Inc (NASDAQ:IPWR, FRA:5ILA) closed a public offering and private placement raising about $14 million to fund commercialization of its power semiconductor technology.
Gunnison Copper Corp (TSX:GCU, OTCQB:GCUMF, FRA:3XS0) posted improved economics in an updated preliminary assessment for its Arizona copper project, reflecting higher copper prices and operational enhancements.
Northstar Gold Corp. (CSE:NSG) launched a non-brokered private placement to help fund permitting and a pilot implementation of Novamera’s Surgical Mining system at its Cam Copper Project in Ontario.
Pinnacle Silver & Gold Corp (TSX-V:PINN, OTCQB:PSGCF, FRA:P9J) reported significant progress at its El Potrero Project in Mexico and is targeting a production decision by the end of 2026.
AtaiBeckley NV (NASDAQ:ATAI, XETRA:9VC) announced positive Phase 2a topline results for its oral R-MDMA candidate in social anxiety disorder, meeting safety goals and showing encouraging efficacy signals.
C3 Metals Inc (TSX-V:CCCM, OTC:CUAUF) intersected copper mineralization in all 12 initial drill holes at its Khaleesi project in Peru, marking a strong start to its first drill campaign there.
Nextech3D.AI (CSE:NTAR, OTCQX:NEXCF, FRA:1SS) added new Tier 1 and Tier 2 enterprise clients, expanding adoption of its AI-powered Events Operating System platform.
Immunic Inc (NASDAQ:IMUX) secured up to $400 million in financing and advanced its lead multiple sclerosis drug into late-stage trials with key data expected by end-2026.
Alvopetro Energy Ltd (TSX-V:ALV, OTC:ALVOF, FRA:A6Y0) reported a 79% jump in proved reserves at year-end 2025, driven by drilling success in Brazil and new Canadian assets, and outlined its 2026 capital plan.

Story Continues

2:40pm: Market movers

Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ:NVDA, XETRA:NVD) shares fell more than 5% despite strong earnings and upbeat analyst commentary highlighting a significant beat and raised outlook driven by robust Blackwell chip shipments and AI demand visibility into 2027.
Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA, EPA:STLA) reported its first full-year loss since its 2021 merger, citing a strategic reset that scales back aggressive EV targets to refocus on customer choice and product strategy.
Celsius Holdings (NASDAQ:CELH) shares surged nearly 9% after the energy drink maker posted fourth-quarter revenue and earnings well above Wall Street expectations.
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc (NASDAQ:DNUT) shares jumped more than 34% after the company delivered better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and pointed to strong operational improvements despite a slight year-over-year revenue decline.
Trade Desk Inc (NASDAQ:TTD) beat fourth-quarter expectations on revenue and earnings but warned of weaker first-quarter results, sending its shares down 5.7%.
Zoom Technologies Inc (NASDAQ:ZOOM) shares dropped over 11% after reporting a fourth-quarter earnings miss and issuing guidance slightly below analyst forecasts.
Snowflake Inc (NYSE:SNOW) shares rose 4.6% after the cloud data platform delivered a quarterly revenue beat and posted 30% year-over-year growth driven by enterprise AI adoption.
Ideal Power Inc (NASDAQ:IPWR, FRA:5ILA) raised about $14 million through a public offering and private placement to fund commercialization of its power semiconductor technology.
Gunnison Copper Corp (TSX:GCU, OTCQB:GCUMF, FRA:3XS0) reported improved project economics in an updated preliminary assessment for its Arizona copper project, reflecting higher copper price assumptions and operational enhancements.

1:05pm: Oil rallies on Iran fears

“With Nvidia out of the way attention inevitably turns to Iran and the lack of progress in talks. Oil’s earlier weakness has been reversed as it seems both sides remain far apart," said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at investing and trading platform IG.

"Given the supply outlook, conflict fears seem to be the only thing driving oil prices to the upside, while indices remain highly nervous given the potential for an extended military operation and the risks that entails.”

11:45am: Concerns surround Salesforce

Salesforce’s guidance signaled only mid-single-digit revenue growth, raising concerns over tepid near-term expansion amid slowing enterprise tech spending and increasing AI competition.

“Investors focused on Salesforce’s fiscal 2027 guidance, which came in just below consensus and signaled only mid-single-digit revenue growth,” Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, noted.

“Many traders interpreted this as a sign that near-term growth remains tepid amid broader concerns about slowing enterprise tech spending and AI competition.”

Still, Salesforce shares rebounded on Thursday morning, ahead around 2.4% as midday approaches.

10:45am: Nvidia's 'gold medal performance'

Nvidia's results “gave tech investors everything they wanted in a present with a red bow,” according to Wedbush's Dan Ives.

Ives' enthusiasm came despite the absence of revenue from China’s H200, which he sees as unlocking further upside once geopolitical tensions ease.

Ives highlighted CEO Jensen Huang’s efforts to counter fears around AI software disruption, noting that enterprise software players like Microsoft and ServiceNow remain central to the AI revolution. “The software layer will ultimately be the hearts and lungs of the AI trade over the coming years,” he said, adding that current market expectations underestimate the monetization potential in the sector.

Wedbush expects Nvidia to continue dominating a $4 trillion total addressable market for AI infrastructure, projecting the company could reach a $6 trillion market cap by 2027. Ives also pointed to hyperscale capex guidance from Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet as evidence of accelerating AI investment. He likened Nvidia’s performance to a young Michael Jordan: a “gold medal performance” signaling only the beginning of a transformative, AI-driven growth phase for the tech sector.

9.52am: Mixed start as Dow rises but Nasdaq drops

It's a mixed start on Wall Street.

While the Dow has started up 0.4%, the S&P 500 is down 0.3% and the Nasdaq has dropped around 0.8%.

Nvidia has dropped around 2.3%.

Biggest fallers on the Nasdaq 100 are Synopsys and Broadcom, both down over 3%, followed by AMD, Seagate, Western Digital and Micron, down around 2%.

Top risers for the Dow are UnitedHealth and American Express, with Salesforce also positive, swinging from its afterhours decline.

8am: Nasdaq and Dow futures flat pre-open

US stock futures were edging towards a flat start early on Thursday morning, as afterhours earnings from Nvidia and Salesforce continued to be digested.

Nasdaq and Dow Jones futures were just below flat, down less than 0.05%, while S&P 500 futures were very modestly in the green.

Helping things, Nvidia shares were up 1.5% in premarket trading, having earlier been flat on the back of last night's blockbuster earnings.

The chipmaker blew past Wall Street expectations as demand for AI chips continues to soar, with fourth-quarter revenue up 73% year-on-year to $68.13 billion and adjusted EPS up 82% to $1.62, above the $1.50 expected and Nvidia’s 16th beat in the past 17 quarters.

The company highlighted the surge in AI adoption, with computing demand "growing exponentially — the agentic AI inflection point has arrived."

Looking ahead, Nvidia expects first-quarter revenue of around $78 billion, versus the $72.78 billion analysts anticipated, assuming no revenue from China’s data center market, and has $58.5 billion remaining in its buyback program.

Kate Leaman, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, said the beat should be "a green light for tech risk appetite", and could provide a tailwind for semis, software, and AI-adjacent plays on the "validation that multi-year capex waves are real".

But while the stock initially popped 4% afterhours, it cooled off.

"Why? Because this isn’t about whether NVDA delivered. It did," said market analyst Kenny Polcari at Slatestone Wealth.

"This is about expectations. The market wants certainty. It wants guarantees that the AI capex boom won’t slow. That hyperscalers won’t blink. That margins won’t compress. That nothing breaks. And that’s laughable.

"We’re talking about a company growing revenue 70%+ at scale — and the complaint is that it wasn’t even better.

"This is what happens when a stock becomes the proxy for an entire industrial revolution. The bar moves from 'beat' to 'prove it again — and make it bigger'."

Salesforce was down 3%, however, as the software company reported better-than-expected quarterly results but issued an outlook that came in slightly below Street expectations on revenue.

Subscription revenues were up 13%, adjusted operating margins were slightly better than estimates, free cash flow was up 39% and a $50 billion share buyback was announced alongside a dividend hike.

Polcari said this was "all about the ongoing concerns that AI is going to destroy it".

JPMorgan equity strategist Abigail Yoder told CNBC: "When you look at software right now, the earnings revisions on a one to two-year basis are positive.

"So this isn’t about what’s going to happen to software earnings in the next one to two years,” she said. “This is about their terminal value in ascribing a certain valuation to that, which I think the market is just wrangling around right now."

In other corners of the market, oil prices were under pressure, with WTI down 2.2% to under $64 a barrel ahead of an OPEC+ meeting this weekend.

This is against a backdrop of reports that Saudi Arabia and other producing nations are shipping significant volumes, while US-Iran negotiations are ongoing, keeping the Strait of Hormuz calm and supply flows uninterrupted.

Economic data today includes initial jobless claims and continuing claims, plus the Kansas City Fed manufacturing survey.

Tomorrow comes the January PPI – factory gate prices – and it is expected to show a decline in price pressures.

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