AI disruption worries continue to drive disruptive price action

Briefing.com Summary:

*Mega-cap weakness and AI disruption concerns continue to hold the market in check.

*Pre-open volatility has been linked in part to headlines pertaining to U.S.-Iran talks.

*Price action has yet to restore confidence to buyers.

Last week was a struggle of sorts for the stock market, which was contending with weakness in the mega-cap stocks centered around ROI concerns and weakness in a number of industries, which was centered around AI disruption concerns.

Investors had a long weekend to think things over, and the early returns this morning suggest they haven’t escaped these concerns.

Currently, the S&P 500 futures are down 22 points and are trading 0.4% below fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are down 186 points and are trading 0.8% below fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 80 points and are trading 0.2% below fair value.

The mega-cap stocks have a little less mega in them this morning, which is the primary basis for the negative bias in the equity futures trade. In general, though, there seems to be a lull in the buying action as market participants wait to see some better price action.

They saw it for a time on Friday, but it wasn’t sustained. The indices faded from higher levels in the afternoon trade, and the S&P 500 remained stuck below its 50-day moving average.

Separately, Bitcoin remains stuck in a rut, which has dampened some of the market’s risk-on behavior.

The same has been said about geopolitical concerns that revolve around the U.S.-Iran talks and a Reuters report that the U.S. military is preparing for Iran operations that could last weeks if President Trump orders an attack.

However, the equity futures have come off their lows of the morning amid reports that Iran reached an agreement with the U.S. on some principles.

In other developments, Danaher (DHR) is acquiring Masimo (MASI) for $9.9 billion, or $180.00 per share, in cash; Elliott Investment Management has built a 10% stake in Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH); Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has initiated discussions with Paramount Skydance (PSKY) for its best and final offer; and Apple (AAPL) has scheduled a product event for March 4.

The corporate news isn’t providing much of a lift on its own for the broader market, which continues to key on the disruptive price action above all else.

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Originally Posted February 17, 2026 – AI disruption worries continue to drive disruptive price action