Tariff Fears Shake Markets Again 23/02/2026

HOT stories for today

Market wrap:

• Wall Street is shaking off a volatile session to close the week. Stocks jumped early Friday after the Supreme Court struck down a sweeping portion of Donald Trump’s trade agenda, then gave back gains before clawing their way higher again into the close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 230 points, or 0.5%, after being down about 200 points at one stage. The S&P 500 added 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.9%. Investors initially read the court decision as a potential easing of friction with US trading partners and a possible path to refunds for companies hit by tariffs, but are still waiting for the White House to spell out next steps.
• Geopolitics also stayed in focus, with Iran again on traders’ radar. Over the past week, Trump urged Tehran to reach an agreement on its nuclear program, warning that “bad things” could follow if it doesn’t. Trump is set to deliver his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday. In commodities, oil slid. Brent futures fell 0.7% to $71.26 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate dropped 0.8% to $65.95. Bitcoin extended its pullback, sinking 5% to below $65,000 as the selloff in digital assets deepened. The moves come after Trump said Saturday he would raise global tariffs to 15%, up from the 10% he announced Friday. He said the higher duties would take effect immediately, though it wasn’t clear whether any formal order had been signed or how implementation would be handled. Looking ahead, Nvidia’s earnings will be a centerpiece this week, with results due Wednesday. The chipmaker is one of only two Magnificent Seven stocks in positive territory this year, and will need to convince investors its artificial-intelligence spending plans remain on track. On the data docket, factory orders are due Monday morning.

Gold Rises, Dollar Slips as Markets Look Past Trump Tariff Salvo

• Markets largely looked through President Donald Trump’s latest tariff escalation, with investors weighing whether the move has lasting bite or is another negotiating tactic. The initial reaction was muted. Asian equities were mostly higher, the 10-year Treasury yield was little changed and havens held firm. Gold edged up about 1%, while the dollar index slipped roughly 0.3%. “The market didn’t really react much to the news. It was already widely anticipated,” Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, said on CNBC, arguing investors have learned the global economy can absorb repeated bouts of tariff turbulence. Trump’s decision to raise global tariffs to 15% from the 10% level he announced earlier follows a US Supreme Court ruling that invalidated a broad swath of levies imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
• Strategists framed the ruling as a procedural reset rather than a reversal of protectionism, with Trump leaning on Section 122 on a temporary basis while duties under Sections 301 and 232, including those targeting steel, autos, and China, remain intact. That backdrop has kept many investors in wait-and-see mode. “No statement on trade policy from Trump is now treated as durable,” said Hugh Dive, chief investment officer at Atlas Funds Management. His advice: “Sit on hands and do nothing, this is just noise.” Others are more cautious. Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers, said it may make sense to lighten risk unless investors can “see clearly through the confusion,” including trimming US exposure in favor of companies less vulnerable to US trade swings. Persistent uncertainty, he said, could complicate corporate planning and global trade.

Stocks on the move:

• Grail (GRAL): Shares plunged 47% after the company said a trial of one of its drugs missed its primary endpoint and didn’t show a statistically significant reduction in Stage III-IV cancers.
• Blue Owl Capital (OWL): Shares fell nearly 3% a day after the alternative-asset manager slid 5.9% following the sale of $1.4 billion in loans.
• Opendoor Technologies (OPEN): Shares jumped 19% after fourth-quarter revenue of $736 million beat the LSEG consensus estimate of $549 million. Opendoor forecasts a first-quarter adjusted EBITDA loss in the low-to-mid $30 million range, versus FactSet’s $32.2 million loss estimate. Management said it’s aiming to reach adjusted net income positive by end-2026 on a forward 12-month basis.
• AppLovin (APP): The stock gained 4% after Bloomberg reported the ad-tech-linked company is developing plans for its own social media platform.

Watchlist: APP, COIN, AMZN, NVDA, RBLX, U, XOM, MSFT, D

Key Economic Events Today:

EST time

08:00 am: USD FOMC Member Waller Speaks
10:00 am: USD Factory Orders



Earnings

BMO (Before Market Open): Dominion Energy (D), Domino’s Pizza (DPZ)

AMC (After Market Close): ONEOK (OKE), Diamondback Energy (FANG), Keysight Technologies (KEYS)



The TEFS Analyst team wishes you a successful day!