U.S. Indexes Face Headwinds as AI-Related Disruptions, Trade Policy Chaos, and Iran Tensions Weighed On Sentiment

Barry Adams
24 Feb, 2026
New York City

Stocks lacked momentum on Wall Street amid increasing headwinds for high-flying tech stocks. 

The S&P 500 Index decreased 0.2%, and the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite eased 0.2% as investors struggled to understand the impact of artificial intelligence on the software industry and a wider labor force. 

Benchmark indexes dropped more than 1% in Monday's trading amid worries that artificial intelligence could disrupt several industries, lingering uncertainty surrounding the U.S. trade policy, and rapidly escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

Market sentiment remained depressed for the second consecutive session this week, and the U.S. president imposed a 15% blanket tariff on imported goods for 150 days. 

Trump's on-again, off-again, and on-again tariffs, using different pretexts, have failed to shrink the U.S. trade deficit, driven trade allies to diversify, and contributed to U.S. inflation. 

 

U.S. Movers

Home Depot jumped 3.2% to $389.0 after the home improvement retailer reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results. 

Sales in the fourth quarter ending on February 1 decreased from a year ago by $1.5 billion, or 3.8%, to $38.2 billion from $39.7 billion; net earnings fell 14% to $2.6 billion from $2.9 billion; and diluted earnings per share decreased to $2.58 from $3.02 a year ago. 

The fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 consisted of 13 weeks compared with 14 weeks for the prior fiscal year, and the 14th week in fiscal 2024 added approximately $2.5 billion of sales to the fourth quarter and the year. 

The 14th week in fiscal 2024 added approximately $0.30 to diluted earnings per share to the fourth quarter and the year. 

Comparable sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 increased 0.4%, and comparable sales in the U.S. increased 0.3%.