Stocks Waver as Nvidia Fails to Stoke AI Trade: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) — Stock futures posted muted gains after Nvidia Corp.’s earnings beat failed to add more fuel to a rebound in technology shares and traders took big bets off the table as nuclear talks between the US and Iran got underway.
S&P 500 contracts rose 0.1% after a two-day rally. Nvidia Corp. climbed 0.7% in premarket trading following strong results, though questions about its sales outlook remained. Salesforce Inc. fell 1.4% on a lukewarm growth forecast. Treasuries held gains after weekly jobless claims rose less than expected.
Meanwhile, Brent crude was near $70 a barrel as the US and Iran negotiated through mediator Oman in Geneva. President Donald Trump gave Tehran a March 1-6 deadline for an agreement over the Islamic Republic’s atomic activities and has threatened military strikes if it fails to comply.
The S&P 500 has recovered from Monday’s selloff, triggered by a Citrini Research report outlining hypothetical AI-disruption scenarios, though traders are refraining from adding to those gains. With Salesforce’s earnings reviving concerns that software giants could lose ground in the age of AI, investors are treading carefully amid trade uncertainty and geopolitical tensions.
Nvidia’s shares “not doing much was quite instructive, especially within the context of one of the other companies that reported — Salesforce,” said Gary Paulin, chief investment strategist at Northern Trust Asset Management. “The concern is that the more success Nvidia has, the more concern there is in the market that there is more disruption.”
European stocks edged higher to extend their record-breaking rally. Rolls-Royce Plc jumped to a record, while Syensqo SA slumped on an earnings miss. Bitcoin held above $68,000. The dollar and gold were little changed. The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell one basis point to 4.04%
For Mohit Kumar, chief strategist for Europe at Jefferies, markets are being “too sanguine” about risks of a limited strike by the US on Iran and an increase in short-term tensions. While a long-drawn war is unlikely, the issue could weigh on markets over the coming days.
“We have reduced our risk profile into the weekend,” Kumar wrote. “Our medium-term view remains bullish and we would be looking to add at better levels.”
Emerging-market stocks continued their outperformance, with MSCI’s gauge of EM equities up 15% in dollar terms this year. Rallies in memory chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics Co. and SK Hynix Inc. fueled gains on Thursday, pushing South Korea’s Kospi index up more than 50% in dollar terms so far in 2026.
A report from Citigroup Inc. found that money managers had added to long positions in emerging markets across Asia, Latin America, as well as Europe, the Middle East and Africa. They also favor emerging currencies against the dollar.
What Bloomberg Strategists say…
“Oil traders might just be taking some comfort in the fact that both sides turned up and talks are underway, given the unpredictability of the relationship between the US and Iran. The timing is key, however. Any indication that a deal isn’t coming imminently risks a reversal and even a spike higher.”
— Conor Cooper, Macro Squawk. Click here to read the full analysis.
Corporate Highlights:
Victory Capital Holdings Inc. offered to buy Janus Henderson Group Plc for $57.04 a share, two months after the target received a takeover offer from Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management. Apollo Global Management Inc. and BNP Paribas SA are nearing a deal to partner up in Europe’s private credit market, people with knowledge of the matter said. Nvidia Corp. failed to impress investors with its latest sales forecast, signaling that concerns about an overheated AI economy will continue to dog the company. Stellantis NV is considering tapping electric-vehicle technology from its Chinese partner Leapmotor to help lower costs across its mass-market European brands such as Fiat, Opel and Peugeot, according to people familiar with the plans. The London Stock Exchange Group Plc, in which Elliott Investment Management has taken a stake, will buy back £3 billion ($4.1 billion) of its own shares over the next 12 months. Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc said it will buy back between £7 billion to £9 billion in company stock over the next two years and raised its mid-term earnings targets Salesforce Inc. gave a lukewarm outlook for sales growth in the new fiscal year, fueling Wall Street’s worries that the software giant will lose out to new competitors in the age of AI. Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
S&P 500 futures rose 0.1% as of 8:35 a.m. New York time Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2% The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2% The MSCI World Index rose 0.1% Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed The euro was little changed at $1.1811 The British pound was little changed at $1.3548 The Japanese yen rose 0.2% to 156.03 per dollar Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin fell 1.2% to $68,104.01 Ether fell 1.5% to $2,068.52 Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.04% Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.70% Britain’s 10-year yield declined three basis points to 4.29% Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.2% to $63.99 a barrel Spot gold rose 0.1% to $5,172.10 an ounce This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
–With assistance from Neil Campling and Marcus Wong.
©2026 Bloomberg L.P.
