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Wall Street Pauses AI Selloff in Choppy Start for Stocks

Major indexes closed Tuesday in the green, but barely

By David Uberti

Feb. 17, 2026 4:28 pm ET

Amazon Spheres in Seattle. Shares of Amazon.com ended the day higher. Ian Allen for WSJ

Quick Summary

Tech stocks paused their slide, helping the Nasdaq composite, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average each rise 0.1%.View more

Tech stocks paused their recent slide on Tuesday, helping major indexes to eke out minor gains.

Artificial-intelligence stocks fell sharply after the opening bell, putting an exchange-traded fund linked to the Magnificent Seven on track for its lowest close since September. But Nvidia and Amazon.com clawed back their early losses to finish the day in the green.

Investors in recent weeks have seesawed between concerns that the AI trade has run its course and fears the technology could disrupt industries ranging from software to financial data to trucking. But there have been moments during this weekslong selloff, including Tuesday afternoon, where investors took the opportunity to revisit some of the market’s largest stocks at a lower price.

“It is likely that we will look back on the current volatility as a buying opportunity, though it’s difficult to estimate when the volatility will be behind us,” Louis Navellier, chief investment officer at Navellier & Associates, told clients.

The Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 indexes each rose 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also inched 0.1% higher, adding 32 points.

U.S. stock markets were closed on Monday for Presidents Day.

A rally in U.S. government debt also paused, leaving the 10-year Treasury yield to settle at 4.053%.

At the same time, federal data have suggested the U.S. economy continues to muscle ahead despite a low-hire, low-fire job market, clouding the outlook for Federal Reserve interest-rate policy.

“Based on current conditions and the data in hand, it will likely be appropriate to hold rates steady for some time as we assess incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks,” Fed governor Michael Barr said in a speech Tuesday.

In individual stocks Tuesday, Norwegian Cruise Line jumped 12% following a Wall Street Journal report that activist Elliott Investment Management has built a more than 10% stake in the struggling cruise-ship operator. Shares in General Mills slid 7% after the Cheerios maker lowered its sales and profit outlook.

Inflation, cuts to government benefits and more “have led to significant consumer stress, especially for the middle- and lower-income groups,” General Mills Chief Executive Jeff Harmening said at a conference in New York.

Paramount stock jumped 4.9% after Warner Bros. Discovery said it would restart deal talks, setting the stage for a potential bidding war with its preferred suitor Netflix. Warner shares rose 2.7%, while Netflix inched 0.2% higher.

Energy companies weighed on major indexes thanks to a 0.9% retreat in benchmark U.S. crude futures to $62.33 a barrel. Iranian officials signaled they are willing to compromise with the U.S. on some aspects of their nuclear program, a potential sign that a conflict near one of the world’s key chokepoints for oil tankers is becoming less likely.

Gold and silver, which have recently traded like meme stocks, similarly declined. Front-month gold futures fell 2.8% Tuesday to $4,882.90 a troy ounce. Silver futures dropped 5.7% to $73.447 a troy ounce.