Stocks Finish Mostly Lower as Nvidia Weighs on Chipmakers

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 close down, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ekes out a gain

Feb. 26, 2026 at 11:24pm

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The broader stock market was under pressure on Thursday as Nvidia's earnings failed to alleviate concerns about an overheated AI economy, which weighed on chipmakers and AI-infrastructure stocks. However, the Dow Jones Industrials managed to close slightly higher, led by a rally in software stocks like Salesforce. Geopolitical risks, including tensions with Iran, also remained a negative factor for stocks.

Why it matters

The mixed performance of the major stock indexes reflects the ongoing tensions and uncertainties in the market, with the technology and AI sectors facing particular challenges. The impact on chipmakers and AI-related stocks could have broader implications for the overall market, as these industries have been driving much of the recent market growth.

The details

Nvidia's earnings, which beat expectations but failed to fully address concerns about the AI economy, led to a sell-off in the company's stock and dragged down other chipmakers and AI-infrastructure plays. This included declines of more than 4% in stocks like Applied Materials, Lam Research, and ASML Holding. However, software stocks like Salesforce, Atlassian, and Datadog rallied, helping to offset some of the broader market weakness.

  • On Thursday, the S&P 500 Index closed down -0.54%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up +0.03%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index closed down -1.16%.
  • March E-mini S&P futures fell -0.56%, and March E-mini Nasdaq futures fell -1.22%.

The players

Nvidia

An American multinational technology company that designs graphics processing units (GPUs) for the gaming and professional markets, as well as system on a chip units (SoCs) for the mobile computing and automotive market.

Salesforce

An American cloud-based software company that provides customer relationship management (CRM) services and applications focused on sales, customer service, marketing automation, analytics, and application development.

Alan Goolsbee

The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, who made comments on Thursday that were supportive for stocks, saying that interest rates could come down further this year if inflation does.

Donald Trump

The former President of the United States, who on Tuesday evening said that Iranian officials are "again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions," and has threatened military strikes against Iran if it fails to comply with a nuclear deal.

Oman Foreign Minister

The foreign minister of Oman, who is mediating the nuclear discussions between the US and Iran, and said the US and Iran will continue nuclear talks at a technical level next week after making "significant progress" in Switzerland.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“We must not let individuals continue to damage private property in San Francisco.”

— Robert Jenkins, San Francisco resident (San Francisco Chronicle)

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This case highlights growing concerns in the community about repeat offenders released on bail, raising questions about bail reform, public safety on SF streets, and if any special laws to govern autonomous vehicles in residential and commercial areas.