Investors Stampede into Tech Shares as Wall Street Gears Up for Nvidia: Feb. 25, 2026

Investors are stampeding into tech shares as Wall Street hopes that Nvidia results after the bell can reignite enthusiasm in the AI trade. Today’s rally is extending yesterday’s Turnaround Tuesday gains, although participation is narrow, with just 3 of the major 11 sectors advancing. Still, domestic equity benchmarks are all climbing amidst wide dispersion with the Nasdaq 100 substantially outperforming its stateside counterparts with every Magnificent Seven name appreciating. Furthermore, stock prices rose overnight following President Trump’s SOTU address, as the commander in chief attempted to raise economic optimism by pointing to roaring activity, decelerating inflation and growing business investment. Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies and commodities are additionally benefiting from the risk-on mood, with those categories rising overall. Elsewhere, forecast contracts are experiencing engagement as volatility protection hedges get tossed in response to a green day in markets. An empty US economic calendar has kept yields and the greenback near their respective flatlines, but that may change as we finish the week with unemployment claims and the PPI on deck for this Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Nvidia Could Send Stocks to Fresh Records Tomorrow

This afternoon’s earnings results from Nvidia will be crucial as the company is the last of the Magnificent Seven to deliver quarterly numbers. It’s an important event when considering that Nvidia is the largest S&P 500 constituent and AI technology overall has driven the lion’s share of market gains since 2023. However, the theme has struggled in 2026 as investors fear that heavy capital expenditures may fall short of Wall Street’s elevated projections Furthermore, the potential for the modern initiatives to upend traditional industries has also led to mounting angst across sectors, and that too has weighed on equity performance this year, hurting not only growth stocks, but additionally hampering the rotation trade that was triggered by expectations of a reaccelerating economy alongside several rate cuts. Clearly, the bar is high as we head into the report, and domestic benchmarks are now experiencing their second consecutive day of robust advances. A continuation of the rally and a required 1% gain to reach fresh records, in my view, will likely require a beat-and-raise and a positive reaction from CEO Huang’s commentary on the call.

International Roundup

Australia Inflation is Unchanged from December

Australia’s January rate of inflation, at 3.8% year over year (y/y), was unchanged from December’s pace, according to the Consumer Price Index, but it was slightly hotter than the 3.7% forecast from a consensus of economists. In December, housing, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and the category consisting of recreation and culture were 6.8%, 3.1% and 3.7% more expensive than in the year-ago period, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Additionally, education was 5.4% more costly. On a month-over-month (m/m) basis, the index was 0.4%, a smaller gain than the 1% jump in December.

Semiconductor Shortage Crimps Corporate Earnings in Canada

Corporations in Canada grew their operating income 1% in the fourth quarter relative to the July through September period, despite the auto industry experiencing a painful shortage of semiconductor chips, according to Statistics Canada. Overall profits climbed 1.3% for non-financial industries with 24 of 30 industrials reporting gains. Mining and quarrying ex oil and gas produced a 28% jump due to higher precious metal prices and investor demand for safe-haven assets resulting in strong gold exports. Telecommunications operating income, furthermore, was up 14.2% with advertising and subscriber revenues contributing to the result. Conversely, a shortage of semiconductor chips hurt results for motor vehicle and trailer manufacturing companies with earnings falling 89.3%. The shortage triggered a disruption in assembly plant output. The financial sector, for its part, reported a 0.6% improvement in profits with elevated results occurring in 8 of 13 sub-sectors. Strong net interest income was a tailwind, helped by a steeper yield curve.  

While Wholesaling Weakens

In a separate print, Statistics Canada reported the January wholesaling activity sank 0.6% m/m, a reversal from the 2% spike in December. According to the preliminary report, the dip was caused by a decline in motor vehicle and parts sales.

Japan Businesses Experience Stable Input Price Pressures

Japanese businesses paid 2.6% more for services in January than in the same month of 2025, an unchanged rate of price increases from December’s y/y result and consistent with the economist consensus estimate, according to the preliminary Corporate Services Producer Index. Among index components, civil engineering and architectural services cost 5.4% more, a deceleration from December’s 6.9% ascent. Hotels were 4.5% more costly, a considerable deceleration from the 10.9% jump in the preceding month. Software development, advertising and building maintenance costs were also higher, growing 4.3%, 3.1% and 3.4%.

Timing of New Year’s Celebration Eases Hong Kong Price Pressures

Hong Kong’s retail inflation was 1.1% y/y in January, slightly lower than the economist consensus estimate of 1.2%, according to the Composite Consumer Price Index. The price pressures also eased from and the 1.4% y/y climb in December.

A government spokesman explained that the limited y/y increase resulted, in part, from the Chinese New Year occurring in February this year. In 2025, the holiday and its accompanying inflationary impact occurred in January, creating a higher base comparison.

The following categories and the extent of their sticker increases demonstrated the strongest y/y price pressures:

• Electricity, gas and water, 3%
• Miscellaneous services, 2.9%
• Alcoholic drinks and tobacco, 2.7%
• Miscellaneous goods, 2.3%
• Transport, 1.3%
• Housing, 1.1%
• Meals out and takeaway food, 1%

Conversely, the durable goods component, the clothing and footwear category and the basic food group experienced declines of 2.8%, 2.3% and 0.3%.

For the three-month period that ended in January, the gauge depicted an average monthly increase of 0.2%, which was unchanged from the October through December timeframe.