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The World in a Week: How Major Markets Moved
U.S. | Stocks declined on AI disruption worries and trade uncertainty. Dow fell 1.31% and Nasdaq lost nearly 1%. PPI rose 0.5% MoM and 2.9% YoY, while factory orders fell 0.7%. The 10-year yield dropped below 4% as investors moved into Treasuries.
Europe | STOXX 600 gained 0.52%, touching another record. Germany’s Ifo rose to 88.6, while France’s confidence dipped. Inflation was mixed across the region, with Germany at 1.9% and Spain at 2.5%. UK rate-cut expectations strengthened.
Japan | Nikkei jumped 3.28%, hitting record highs. Tokyo CPI rose 1.8% YoY. The yen weakened toward 156 per dollar, and 10-year yields edged up to 2.12% amid cautious policy signals.
China | CSI 300 rose 1.08% and Hang Seng added 0.82% in a shortened week. Lunar New Year spending reached 803.5 billion yuan, though per-trip spending softened. The PBOC moved to temper yuan strength.
India | Nifty fell as IT dropped over 4%. Metals and PSU Banks gained over 1.5%, reflecting rotation toward cyclicals.
Commodities | Oil remained firm on geopolitical tensions. Bond yields eased as equity sentiment softened.
Stock market closing data for the week of Feb 23 to Feb 27, 2026
Index information: STOXX 600 (tracks 600 large, mid- & small-cap EU firms), DAX (top 40 German blue chips), CAC 40 (leading French stocks), Nikkei 225 (225 top Japanese stocks), CSI 300 & SSEC (mainland China A-shares), and Hang Seng (large-cap Hong Kong-listed firms). For these indices, we track 1-week returns to capture how global sentiment is shifting.
News Summaries
Nvidia Revenue Doubles to $68B, Yet AI Stocks Fall 5% Post-Earnings
NVIDIA reported record quarterly results, with revenue around $68 billion, more than doubling year over year, driven by strong demand for AI data-centre chips. The company also guided for ~70%+ growth in the coming quarter, reinforcing expectations of sustained AI infrastructure spending.
However, the stock reaction was volatile.
Shares initially rose but later fell over 5%, pulling down broader AI and semiconductor stocks as investors raised concerns about valuation and the sustainability of the AI spending cycle.
The results highlighted continued supply constraints in advanced memory and networking, even as hyperscalers ramp up capital expenditure. Analysts note that AI chip performance is improving faster than supporting components, creating bottlenecks and pricing power shifts within the semiconductor ecosystem.
For investors, the key takeaway is that strong earnings alone may not be enough to drive stocks higher. Markets are now focused on returns on AI spending, valuation risks, and potential cyclicality, suggesting increased volatility across AI-linked equities in the near term.
Netflix Jumps 14% After Warner Exit; Paramount Surges on Takeover Momentum
Netflix has withdrawn from its bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, declining to raise its offer after Paramount Skydance sweetened its proposal.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s board determined Paramount’s revised offer of $31 per share constituted a “superior proposal” to Netflix’s earlier $27.75-per-share (~$83 billion) bid,” giving Netflix four business days to respond. Netflix said the deal was “no longer financially attractive” at the price required to match Paramount’s bid.
Netflix’s shares jumped sharply on the news, rallying almost 14%, as investors welcomed the company’s disciplined retreat and avoided what analysts saw as an expensive acquisition risk.
Paramount Skydance’s bid values Warner Bros. Discovery at around $110 billion, including debt, positioning it as the likely winner in the months-long bidding war. The shareholder vote on the Netflix agreement, previously scheduled for March 2026, has effectively been sidelined as Paramount moves closer to closing.
For investors, the shift ends a high-stakes media consolidation battle and highlights a renewed focus on balance-sheet discipline. Analysts note that Netflix’s exit allows it to preserve cash flow and avoid taking on significant legacy media debt, while Paramount will need to demonstrate value creation from the combined studio and streaming assets.
Dell Surges Nearly 22% as AI Server Outlook Strengthens Growth Visibility
Shares of Dell Technologies rose nearly 22% in a single session after the company projected strong long-term growth in its artificial intelligence infrastructure business. The rally was driven by upbeat guidance and improving visibility on enterprise and cloud demand for AI servers.
Dell expects its AI-optimised server revenue to grow by 113%, reaching around $50 billion annually by fiscal 2027. The company highlighted strong order momentum from hyperscalers and enterprises, with demand driven by large-scale investments in generative AI, data centres, and high-performance computing.
The company also announced a 20% increase in dividends and a $10 billion share buyback, signaling confidence in its cash flow outlook. This comes as global technology firms are projected to spend over $600 billion on AI infrastructure in the coming years, supporting strong demand across the hardware ecosystem.
For investors, the move reinforces a broader shift in the AI cycle. As adoption moves from experimentation to deployment, infrastructure providers such as Dell could emerge as key beneficiaries, with hardware, networking, and data-centre capacity becoming central to long-term growth in the technology sector.
Private Markets Pulse | OpenAI Raises $110B, Deepens Amazon AI Alliance
OpenAI announced a record $110 billion funding round at a $730 billion pre-money valuation, making it one of the largest private capital raises ever. Nearly half of the investment is expected to come from Amazon, while Nvidia and SoftBank have pledged about $30 billion each to support AI infrastructure.
The deal significantly strengthens OpenAI’s strategic partnership with Amazon, positioning AWS as a key cloud and distribution layer for enterprise AI. OpenAI is also expected to adopt Amazon’s custom Trainium chips, which are designed to deliver 30–40% better price-performance versus traditional GPUs, signalling a shift toward diversified compute beyond Nvidia’s ecosystem.
This funding reflects the accelerating global AI arms race, where Big Tech players are moving from passive investments to deep infrastructure alliances. The capital will primarily support data centres, compute capacity, and large-scale model deployment as demand for enterprise AI continues to surge.
For investors, the round highlights a structural transition in technology: private markets are becoming the primary venue for early AI value creation, while strategic partnerships increasingly determine long-term winners in the AI stack
For investors tracking OpenAI closely, Vested provides access to invest in OpenAI through Private Markets offering.
