Wall St ends lower as tech rally stalls, AI fervor wanes after Nvidia results

NEW YORK - US stocks turned sharply lower on Feb 26, the day after earnings from artificial intelligence vanguard Nvidia failed to impress investors, weighing down technology shares which have provided muscle to the recent rally.

A pivot back to cyclical sectors helped keep the Dow nominally higher, while a 3.2 per cent drop in the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index helped drag the tech-laden Nasdaq down 1.2 per cent.

With the Feb 26 drop, the SOX, which has surged 15.7 per cent year-to-date, is on the verge of snapping what would have been a record 11-week winning streak.

Technology shares in general, and software and chips in particular, have see-sawed in recent weeks as investors wrestle with uneasiness over the massive costs and potential disruption of nascent AI technology.

While all three major US stock indexes are on track for modest weekly losses, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are poised to close lower on the month. The Dow remains on track to post an advance in February.

Nvidia’s fourth-quarter results, posted after the Feb 25 closing bell, were better than analysts expected, and the chipmaker provided above-market estimates. But the world’s richest company by market cap wrestled with increasingly difficult year-on-year comparisons as its revenue growth decelerates. Its shares lost 5.5 per cent.

“It feels like an Nvidia hangover that’s specific to the AI space,” said Mr Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management in Philadelphia. “The S&P itself is being dragged down by Nvidia and the Magnificent 7, and the Nasdaq is really getting hammered.”

“It’s as simple as investors being levered long in Nvidia and short the AI disruption,” Mr Green added. “And when that failed to materialise in a large enough scale, they sold out of their position, driving Nvidia down and pushing the stocks they were short back up.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 17.05 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 49,499.20, the S&P 500 lost 37.27 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 6,908.86 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 273.69 points, or 1.18 per cent, to 22,878.38.

Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, tech and communication services suffered the steepest percentage losses, while financials led the gainers, rising 1.3 per cent on the strength of big bank shares, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo .

The S&P 500 software and services index, battered in recent weeks on worries over AI-related disruption, gained 1.4 per cent, boosted by a 4 per cent increase in Salesforce shares, even though the company provided weaker-than-expected revenue guidance.

Trade Desk slid 4.8 per cent following its disappointing revenue forecast amid mounting pressure from larger rivals.

J.M. Smucker surged 8.8 per cent on the packaged food company’s solid quarterly profit and sales estimates.

C3.ai tumbled 18.5 per cent after it provided a weaker-than-expected current quarter sales forecast and announced it would slash 26 per cent of its global workforce.

Celsius Holding jumped 6.9 per cent after the energy drink maker beat quarterly revenue estimates.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.41-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 444 new highs and 71 new lows on the NYSE.

On the Nasdaq, 2,439 stocks rose and 2,237 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.09-to-1 ratio.

The S&P 500 posted 37 new 52-week highs and one new low while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 88 new highs and 88 new lows.

Volume on US exchanges was 19.55 billion shares, compared with the 20.31 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. REUTERS