US stocks edged higher Tuesday in volatile trading as Wall Street continued assessing the AI jitters that have hammered markets in recent weeks.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) flipped by 0.1% recovering from steep losses early in the session, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose just above the flatline. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) was little changed.

Apple (AAPL) shares gained more than 3% over optimism that the iPhone maker is ramping up development of wearable devices with AI capabilities.

After a break for Presidents Day, AI concerns continue to simmer. Investors are on the lookout for the next potential victim after fresh worries about AI's ability to upend industries hit stocks in sectors from wealth management to transportation to logistics. The Dow and S&P 500 have fallen in four of the past five weeks amid that pressure.

This week, earnings season enters its final stretch. The week's highlight is Walmart's (WMT) quarterly report on Thursday, the first since the retail giant joined the trillion-dollar market cap club.

Elsewhere in corporates, Paramount Skydance (PSKY) stock rose over 5% on Tuesday following the news that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has given the studio one week to come back with a better offer. Warner Bros. rejected the latest bid from the Hollywood studio.

GE Aerospace (GE) is dragging aerospace & defense higher today, up over 3% heading into the close.

Other winners include Raytheon (RTX), Honeywell (HON), Parker-Hannifin (PH), and Wabtec (WAB).

Still, it’s not a sea of green for a group that’s been a bastion of strength since the post–Liberation Day lows last April. General Dynamics (GD), Lockheed Martin (LMT), and Teledyne (TDY) are slightly in the red.

GE’s the standout story either way. After spinning off GE Vernova (GEV), the stock has pushed back above its old 2000 peak — a long way from the two lost decades in between. It’s up more than 10x from the 2020 lows and back within spitting distance of the Jan. 6 all-time high.

The Dow Jones Transportation Index (^DJT) rallied Tuesday into key technical resistance above 19,500. That’s the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement from the Feb. 6 all-time closing high to the Feb. 12 closing low — and it’s the line in the sand for bears to defend.

Transportation and logistics stocks like RXO Inc. (RXO) and C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) were among last week’s biggest losers, as the “AI scare trade” morphed from a software-only problem into a sledgehammer that hit anything tied to efficiency, labor, and fee pressure — including asset managers and insurance brokers. Now they’re bouncing hard, with RXO at the top of the transport tape.

Airlines weren’t in the AI crosshairs, but they still got swept up in the industry sell-off. The spark was a paper from microcap Algorythm Holdings (RIME) on using AI in transportation logistics, which set off nerves in an index that had already notched 10 record closes in 2026.

Today, Southwest (LUV) is leading the airlines bounce — up near 7% — with United (UAL), American (AAL), and Alaska (ALK) in tow, each up more than 3%.

Meanwhile, RIME is down 17% after opening at a one-year high.

For the Dow Transports: holding above 19,500, bulls take control. Rejected, 19,000 is the downside target.

Apple (AAPL) shares gained more than 3% on Tuesday after a Bloomberg report indicated the tech giant is ramping up development of three new wearable devices with AI capabilities, including glasses, a pendant, and AirPods.

The devices are all built around Apple’s Siri digital assistant, according to the report.

The iPhone maker is competing with Meta (META), which is developing smart glasses, and OpenAI, which is exploring wearable devices.

Apple shares also gained following a bullish note from Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, who brushed off a recent decline in Apple shares amid a broader tech sell-off.

\\"This recent worry and sell-off in Apple Inc.’s shares is unwarranted, as the focus is on Apple getting its AI strategy right and releasing its advanced AI features by the summer timeframe, which still appears to be on track,\\" wrote Ives.

Wedbush maintained an Outperform rating and a $350 price target.

Gold (GC=F) retreated more than 2% on Tuesday, but the recent volatility may be temporary as Wall Street analysts see a bullish outlook for the precious metal in 202

Gold futures hovered around $4,900 as Asian markets closed for the Chinese New Year. Meanwhile, Iran and the US reached a “general agreement” on a possible nuclear deal, easing tensions in the Middle East.

\\"Despite short-term softness, the structural drivers supporting gold remain firmly in place,\\" Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, wrote in a newsletter.

The strategist highlighted central bank buying, geopolitical fragmentation, and portfolio diversification as key factors driving gold’s safe-haven appeal amid concerns over currency debasement.

Read more here.

Palantir (PLTR) has moves its headquarters to Miami from Denver, joining a growing list of firms through the financial and tech sectors to decamp for the growing \\"Wall Street South.\\"

The company announced the move in an X post on Tuesday. Shares picked up roughly 0.5% in midday trading.

In moving its headquarters to Miami, Palantir follows a large list of companies looking to Florida for lower taxes and a lighter business regulation scheme. Among those are Citadel, one of the largest hedge funds in the world, led by Ken Griffin; and Related Companies, the real estate investment firm led by Stephen Ross.

Griffin and Ross, both billionaires, recently launched a $10 million campaign aimed at convincing more corporate leaders to relocate their firms to Miami. Peter Thiel, the chairman of Palantir, also recently opened an office for his private investment firm in Miami, according to Bloomberg.

After Ford's first release of electric vehicles, the automaker faced demand below expectations — and a massive bill of roughly $19.5 billion in write-offs. With its latest EV plan, the company is pivoting to a \\"universal electric vehicle (UEV) platform\\" designed to lower manufacturing costs.

Our Pras Subramanian reports:

Ford (F)'s first-gen EVs — think the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning pickup — gave the automaker valuable insights into what customers want, as well as the difficulties in manufacturing EVs from scratch.

The big problem for Ford and other non-Tesla automakers was that customer demand was nowhere near the excitement levels projected by the industry, and the costs associated with the program were massive, to the tune of $19.5 billion in write-offs for Ford.

As a result, Ford pivoted its EV plans, but it's not giving up. The company's focus is on a new universal electric vehicle (UEV) platform built from the ground up with a \\"skunkworks\\" team in California. The first product will be a midsize EV pickup costing around $30,000, targeting profitability from the start.

\\"We're still on a really steep decline of EV costs, and you can only get that by innovating, and you can only get that by system level, optimizing into what eventually becomes a product that a customer wants,\\" said Ford's Alan Clarke, who runs the skunkworks team out of Long Beach and was a longtime Tesla engineer.

Ford said the UEV platform reduces total parts by 20% compared with a typical Ford vehicle program — for example, incorporating 25% fewer fasteners throughout the vehicle. On the factory floor, Ford eliminated 40% of process workstations compared to current production. Using fewer parts and redesigning the build process makes a truck that's cheaper to manufacture.

Read more here.

Shares in renewable power provider Ormat Technologies (ORA) surged Tuesday morning, gaining more than 5% on the announcement of a deal that will see Ormat provide geothermal energy for Google (GOOG) data center projects.

Under the terms of the deal, Ormat will develop several geothermal power projects throughout Nevada that the company said provide Google with around 150 megawatts of power for the Big Tech hyperscaler's data center projects in the region.

The sites are expected to come online between 2028 and 2030, Ormat said in its press release announcing the deal. The Purchase Power Agreement underpinning the project is subject to approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN), expected in the second half 20206, Ormat said.

“AI is fundamentally increasing electricity demand across the technology sector, and geothermal power is uniquely positioned to deliver the reliable, carbon-free power required to support that growth,” Doron Blachar, Chief Executive Officer of Ormat Technologies, said in the press release.

Oil prices fell Tuesday after Iran announced it had reached a \\"general agreement\\" with the US on a potential nuclear deal that would lift some sanctions on the Iranian regime.

Futures on Brent crude (BZ=F), the international pricing benchmark, fell by 0.6% to trade below $67.50. Those on the US pricing benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CL=F), lost 0.9% to change hands around $62.25.

In comments to state TV, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said, “We were able to reach a general agreement on a set of guiding principles, based on which we will proceed from now on and move toward drafting a potential agreement.\\"

Iran's leadership has spent the past month in talks with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. The news is seen as lowering the risk of a military conflict between the two countries, which would apply an immediate risk premium to oil prices.

Iran largely controls the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping chokepoint that sees roughly 20 million barrels of oil traverse its waters every day. Any moves to restrict access to the strait, or attacks against infrastructure in the region, would push oil prices much higher as buyers priced in longer and slower shipping routes and a drop-off in Middle Eastern supply.

Earlier on Tuesday, Iranian leadership said Tehran would partially close the strait for several hours due to military drills, according to Bloomberg. The move comes as the US has steadily built up its naval armament in the region, sending a second aircraft carrier to the region late last week. The US Maritime Authority advised ship captains in early February to avoid Iran's territorial waters if possible, for fear of potential interference or forcible boardings.

Yet despite seeming progress toward a deal the X account for the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, posted several comments disparaging US involvement in Iran's energy industry.

\\"The Americans say, ‘Let's negotiate over your nuclear energy, and the result of the negotiation is supposed to be that you do not have this energy!'\\" the X account posted early Tuesday morning.

\\"If that’s the case, there is no room for negotiation; but if negotiations are truly to take place, determining the outcome of the negotiations in advance is a wrong and foolish act.\\"

Corporate profits are rising while labor income keeps falling, a sign that so-called \\"K-shaped\\" movements in the economy are continuing, analysts for Bank of America wrote on Tuesday.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the analysts wrote, an increasing amount of economic data has pointed toward an uptick in productivity. However, the economic gains from that productivity seem to be aggregating in corporate profits, while wages steadily fall.

This split between profits and income is consistent and being reinforced by the rally in financial as well as real assets, which are more concentrated among higher- and middle-income households,\\" the analysts wrote. The dichotomy in the data also \\"begs the question of whether these are real improvements in labor productivity.

\\"It remains to be seen whether wages and salaries recoup some of their lost ground relative to corporate profits,\\" the analysts wrote. \\"But for now, higher profits relative to wages are yet another driver of a K-shaped economy, as higher-income consumers tend to be more exposed.\\"

US stocks opened Tuesday's session split, as the tech sector continued its downturn in a sign that investor concerns about AI disruption aren't yet settling.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led losses, shedding roughly 0.5%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost a thinner 0.2%. Meanwhile, the blue-chip-heavy Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), which is less exposed to the tech sector, rose roughly 0.3% before paring gains.

Fourth-quarter results from Walmart (WMT), a recent member of the the trillion-dollar market cap club, on Thursday will highlight the week's earnings calendar. Constellation Energy (CEG), Energy Transfer (ET), Medtronic (MDT), and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) will also report this week, all on Tuesday.

The Personal Consumption Expenditures index and an advance read on fourth-quarter GDP, both on Friday, will dominate investor attention on the economic calendar. Investors will also get meetings from the Federal Reserve's January meeting on Wednesday.

Shares in consumer food giant General Mills (GIS) fell by more than 3.3% in premarket trading after the company lowered its 2026 sales outlook. \\"Weak consumer sentiment, heightened uncertainty, and significant volatility have weighed on category growth and impacted consumer purchase patterns\\" contributed to the dour outlook, the company said.

General Mills is now projecting organic net sales of -1.5% to -2%, down from a previous range of -1% to 1%. Adjusted operating profit and adjusted diluted earnings per share are now expected at a range of -16% to -20%, down from a previously stated range of -10% to -15%.

\\"While the company is making meaningful progress in strengthening its remarkability to position the business for long-term sustainable growth, this progress has come amid a more challenging backdrop,\\" General Mills said in its statement.

While General Mills has managed to return roughly 4% since the beginning of the year, the company's shares are down more than 18% over the past year. Meanwhile, an index tracking the consumer staples sector (XLP) has returned 15% year to date and roughly 10% since the same time last year.

Paramount Skydance (PSKY) stock is moving higher after Warner Bros. (WBD) agreed to reopen acquisition discussions.

The move comes after Paramount proposed a new all-cash offer last week of $30 per share to acquire the entire company. That offer came with a $ 0.25-per-share \\"ticking fee\\" — under which Warner Bros.' shareholders would receive $0.25 per share each quarter until the transaction is not closed beyond the end of this year.

Paramount also floated an informal acquisition proposal for $31 a share, WBD said.

The new window for discussions will last seven days, ending on Feb. 23, 2026, \\"to seek clarity for Warner Bros. stockholders and provide Paramount the ability to make its best and final offer.\\"

In the release, Warner Bros. Chair Samuel A. Di Piazza said the board of directors said it still suggests the Netflix offer, worth some $82.7 billion, which does not include the entire business.

\\"The Netflix merger is in the best interests of WBD shareholders due to the tremendous value it provides\\" with a \\"clear path to achieve regulatory approval,\\" he said in the release.

Paramount's current offer of $30 per share values the whole company at $108.4 billion.

Netflix’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee last week, negating claims that it would lead to a monopoly, or higher prices for consumers.

Yahoo Finance's Jake Conley lays out the key events ahead for investors in a holiday-shortened week.

He writes:

AI turbulence was the dominant theme in markets last week, with software, real estate, financial services, and logistics stocks all facing selling pressure on worries about the scale of AI-related disruption to their businesses.

... These moves ... flattered what were sharp moves beneath the surface. Whether these disruptions continue will be the theme most closely tracked by investors in the week ahead.

Headlining the economic data calendar this week will be Friday's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report, offering investors a read on consumer spending in the holiday shopping-filled month of December and a look at inflation.

The data comes after last week's Consumer Price Index (CPI) numbers showed that inflation slowed more than expected in January.

... In the corporate world, attention is likely to focus on Thursday's fourth quarter release from Walmart (WMT), a strong indicator of consumer spending, with the report marking the first for new Walmart CEO John Furner.

Read more here on what to look out for.

DTE Energy (DTE) stock rose as much as 10% before paring gains. The energy company is due to release its earnings before the bell today, and the stock has risen 13% over the past year.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) stock rose 7% during premarket trading on Tuesday after activist investor Elliott built a stake in the company.

Strategy (MSTR) stock fell 3% before the bell today. The company, which is one of the largest corporate holders of bitcoin, has been struggling recently due to the sell-off with the world's largest cryptocurrency.

A growing number on Wall Street are assessing the recent AI sell-offs. And despite many fearing the bubble has burst, for stock pickers, now might be the time for them to get greedy.

Bloomberg News reports:

Yes, artificial intelligence is likely to disrupt companies and put some of them out of business. But there’s little chance, the thinking goes, that wealth managers or real estate agents or insurance brokerages or logistics firms cease to exist entirely.

And therein lies the opportunity, the traders say. When a new AI tool threatens to upset an industry, investors are simply selling the whole group. Take logistics, a segment that sank almost 7% Thursday on just such a report. All 17 companies in the Russell 3000 Trucking index declined, with more than half off at least 5%. A day later, all but four stocks were higher as the group recouped half its drop.

A similar whiplash has hit a handful of other industries in recent weeks in a market that’s increasingly primed to react to even the smallest signal of displacement risk. Money managers and analysts say the indiscriminate nature of the selling proves it’s disconnected from fundamentals, and presents a chance to buy.

Read more here.

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd (HLAG.DE, HPGLY) is buying ZIM Integrated Shipping Services in a deal worth $4.2 billion, bringing together two of the world's biggest shipping lines.

Shares of Israel-based ZIM rocketed over 35% higher in premarket trading, after the two companies confirmed the takeover on Monday.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Germany-based Hapag-Lloyd said Monday that it signed a deal to buy Zim for $35 a share in cash, a 58% premium to Zim’s closing price of $22.20 on Friday.

The total deal price of around $4.2 billion will be funded from cash reserves and external financing of up to $2.5 billion.

... The deal is expected to be completed by the end of this year, Hapag-Lloyd said. Any deal will require the consent of the state of Israel, Zim shareholders and regulators.

... The move comes after Zim appointed an independent board that has spent the last several months conducting a strategic review to assess a range of options, including a sale of the company, capital allocation options and other measures to maximize shareholder value.

Zim recently reported a sharp drop in third-quarter earnings as freight rates tumbled and container volumes slipped, with the company warning that fourth-quarter conditions had weakened.

Read more here.

Nothing like a BofA fund manager survey drop the day after a market holiday.

Lots of great nuggets in the one out this morning, but the chart below stood out to me. So many on the Street I talk with expect a very robust economy this spring, in part because of expectations for a strong tax refund season.

Goes a long way in explaining the hot small-caps trade.

Masimo (MASI) stock surged over 30% in premarket following a report that Danaher (DHR) is closing in on a deal to buy the medical technology company.

The deal moves come two years after activist investor Politan succeeded in pushing through a change in Masimo's board.

It would be the biggest acquisition by Danaher in over half a decade, the Financial Times reported. Shares of the US life sciences manufacturer fell over 5% before the bell.

The FT reports:

A deal for the California-based Masimo could be announced as early as Tuesday provided it does not hit any last-minute snags, according to people familiar with the matter.

The acquisition values Masimo at around $9.9 billion, the people said. That represents a premium to its nearly $7 billion market capitalisation at Friday’s close.

... Masimo is a leading manufacturer of pulse oximeters, which measure blood oxygen levels. The company has challenged Apple (AAPL) over breaching its patents in a long-running intellectual property dispute over the Apple Watch.

... Masimo shares are down 50 per cent over the past five years and the group has struggled since it acquired Sound United, a wearables company, for $1 billion in 2021.

Read more here (premium subscribers)

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) stock rose 6% before the bell on Tuesday following a report from The Wall Street Journal that activist investor Elliott has built a 10% stake in the company and plans to push for changes.

Elliott has become one of the cruise line's top investors and is keen to fix the company's underperformance. Elliott has so far built stakes in Southwest Airlines (LUV), as well as oil refiner Phillips 66 (PSX) and Toyota Industries (TYIDY). According to The Wall Street Journal, Elliott has over $79 billion in assets under management and is concerned about Norwegian Cruise Line's financial performance.

The Wall Street Journal:

Norwegian is the fourth-largest cruise operator in the world by number of passengers, with a market value of roughly $10 billion. Its brands include the more premium Oceania Cruises and the luxury Regent Seven Seas Cruises.

Norwegian’s stock is down around 4% year to date as of Friday, after falling roughly 13% in 2025.

The Miami-based company has lagged behind competitors including Royal Caribbean and Carnival. Norwegian shares are among the worst-performing in the S&P 500 over the past five years, with the stock remaining near Covid-era levels, despite consumer demand recovering since the pandemic.

Elliott believes Norwegian could make changes to catch up to its rivals, the people familiar with the matter said.

For example, Norwegian’s peers have had success bringing in new customers to cruises through their private islands. Norwegian owns Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas, one of the biggest private islands in the industry, but industry-watchers say its development plans have been slow-going.

Read more here.

Nvidia (NVDA) has a very high bar to clear to appease investors when it reports earnings on February 25.

Citi this morning points to a few important things to keep in mind ahead of time:

\\"Key Investor Topics — a) Higher component costs impact to expected mid 70s percentage gross margins; b) updates on Anthropic/OpenAI investments; c) inference competition, and d) impact of the Groq licensing agreement on Nvidia's product roadmap.\\"