Market Roundup – NYSE After Market Close Bearish as of February 23, 2026 05:00 ct
After Market Close S&P 500 daily snapshot: news summary & sentiment, major ETFs, Magnificent 7 analysis, and QQQ daily view.
SPY Daily View
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Market News Summary
- Tariffs & Political Risks: U.S. markets faced heightened volatility due to new tariff uncertainties, following the Supreme Court’s ruling against President Trump’s program and his subsequent threats of broader tariffs. The resulting environment exacerbated risk-off sentiment and drove equity selloffs, especially in software and tech, with the Dow experiencing its worst day in a month. EU trade negotiations have now stalled, contributing to broader unease.
- Tech & AI Sector: Tech valuations continued to slide, with AI-driven repricing dampening investor confidence and leading to significant outflows from software stocks, which lost over $200 billion in market cap for the session. Despite this, the sector maintains long-term attractiveness, underscored by its substantial gains over recent years.
- Commodities & Energy: Oil prices initially popped on concerns about potential U.S.–Iran conflict disrupting supply, though strong U.S. output capped gains and led to profit-taking. Natural gas remained volatile. Gold and silver surged amid safe-haven flows, with gold climbing above $5,200 and forecasts indicating further upside given geopolitical and monetary factors. Russia capitalized on high gold prices with significant January sales.
- Equities Spotlight: PayPal led the S&P 500 on takeover speculation. Conagra Brands became the top dividend-yielder in the index after a competitor cut its payout. Notably, select ETFs and miners outperformed, with gold/silver miners reporting record margins and strong cash flows off the back of this metals rally.
- Regulatory & Structure Developments: The SEC has granted approval for intraday trading of tokenized shares in a money market fund, marking a step forward for market infrastructure evolution.
- Sentiment Overview: Risk-off prevailed throughout the day, with mounting uncertainties dominating portfolios and trading desk discussions. Some analysts are maintaining cautious optimism for select assets and long-term equity growth into late 2026.
News Conclusion
- Session momentum was decisively negative for most indices, driven by tariff escalation, political concerns, software sector weakness, and shifting investor risk appetites. Safe havens such as gold and Treasuries benefited, while energy and growth stocks faced crosscurrents from macro headlines. The market remains reactive to policy shifts and sector-specific pressures.
Market News Sentiment:
Market News Articles: 44
- Negative: 52.27%
- Neutral: 27.27%
- Positive: 20.45%
GLD,Gold Articles: 15
- Neutral: 46.67%
- Positive: 46.67%
- Negative: 6.67%
USO,Oil Articles: 9
- Neutral: 55.56%
- Negative: 33.33%
- Positive: 11.11%
Market Data Snapshot
ETF Snapshot of major stock market ETFs, Mag7, and others as of: February 23, 2026 05:00
- GLD 481.28 Bullish 2.70%
- NVDA 191.55 Bullish 0.91%
- AAPL 266.18 Bullish 0.60%
- TLT 89.74 Bullish 0.37%
- USO 80.90 Bullish 0.06%
- GOOG 311.69 Bearish -1.02%
- SPY 682.39 Bearish -1.02%
- QQQ 601.41 Bearish -1.22%
- IWM 260.49 Bearish -1.56%
- DIA 488.01 Bearish -1.63%
- IJH 70.87 Bearish -1.72%
- AMZN 205.27 Bearish -2.30%
- META 637.25 Bearish -2.81%
- TSLA 399.83 Bearish -2.91%
- MSFT 384.47 Bearish -3.21%
- IBIT 36.55 Bearish -4.87%
ETF Stocks Summary (SPY, QQQ, IWM, IJH, DIA)
- SPY: 682.39 (Bearish, -1.02%) – Broad S&P 500 exposure trending lower, reflecting broad market selling.
- QQQ: 601.41 (Bearish, -1.22%) – Nasdaq 100 large-cap tech retreat accelerating.
- IWM: 260.49 (Bearish, -1.56%) – Small-cap underperformance continues, pressured by risk-off sentiment.
- DIA: 488.01 (Bearish, -1.63%) – Dow Jones Industrials losing ground, cyclical weakness.
- IJH: 70.87 (Bearish, -1.72%) – Mid-caps falling more sharply, signaling broad risk aversion.
Magnificent 7 Snapshot
- NVIDIA (NVDA): 191.55 (Bullish, +0.91%) – Momentum holds, bucking tech weakness.
- Apple (AAPL): 266.18 (Bullish, +0.60%) – Modestly higher, showing some resilience.
- Google (GOOG): 311.69 (Bearish, -1.02%) – Under pressure with broader tech.
- Amazon (AMZN): 205.27 (Bearish, -2.30%) – Sharp drop intensifies sector caution.
- Meta (META): 637.25 (Bearish, -2.81%) – Heavier decline signals rotation from high-growth names.
- Tesla (TSLA): 399.83 (Bearish, -2.91%) – Leading losses amid concentrated selling.
- Microsoft (MSFT): 384.47 (Bearish, -3.21%) – Sustained selling, significant portion of QQQ weakness.
Other ETFs – State of Play
- GLD: 481.28 (Bullish, +2.70%) – Gold outperforms, strong risk-off/inflation hedge flows.
- TLT: 89.74 (Bullish, +0.37%) – Long-duration Treasuries inch higher, possible flight to safety.
- USO: 80.90 (Bullish, +0.06%) – Oil relatively flat, showing some defensive characteristics.
- IBIT: 36.55 (Bearish, -4.87%) – Bitcoin ETF sees a sharp decline, pronounced risk reduction.
Market Overview
Majority of major indices and high-profile growth stocks experienced broad selling within this session, signaling a strong risk-off sentiment. Notably, the only bullish action appeared in alternative hedges like gold (GLD), select mega-cap tech (NVDA, AAPL), and government bonds (TLT). Crypto-related risk proxies (IBIT) saw outsized selling, and small/mid-cap equities (IWM, IJH) underperformed the already weak large-cap indices.
Tech Daily View
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