The major averages finished mostly lower today amid considerable pressure across mega-cap and select tech names following NVIDIA's (NVDA 184.89, -10.74, -5.49%) earnings report. Continued strength across software names and some other pockets of the market helped the S&P 500 (-0.5%), Nasdaq Composite (-1.2%), and DJIA (flat) finish well off of their session lows, with the S&P 500 garnering some support around its 50-day moving average (6,898.97), which it closed just above. 

To be fair, NVIDIA delivered another stellar earnings report, topping expectations while reporting record data center revenue and issuing bullish guidance. While the stock gained several percentage points in after-hours trading, the immediate response waned overnight, and the stock faced sustained pressure throughout the day. The price action underscores the market's lingering concerns about whether hyperscalers (in this case being NVIDIA's customers) can sustain or expand upon the massive current levels of capital expenditure in the AI buildout. 

Other large chipmaker names such as Broadcom (AVGO 321.70, -10.61, -3.19%) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 203.68, -7.18, -3.41%) incurred similar losses, sending the PHLX Semiconductor Index (-3.2%) considerably lower and weighing on the information technology sector (-1.8%). 

Losses were somewhat softened by continued strength across software names as sentiment rebounds across software-as-a-service stocks. Salesforce (CRM 199.47, +7.72, +4.03%) charted a nice gain despite issuing cautious guidance, and the iShares GS Software ETF finished 2.2% higher. 

On a related note, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang told CNBC that markets were wrong about artificial intelligence's threat to software companies.

The rebound in software-related stocks contributed to gains in several of the best-performing S&P 500 sectors today. 

The financials sector (+1.3%) faced some choppiness but managed to finish near session highs. While strength was broad and featured another bounce in major banking names, financial publishing and software stocks such as Block (XYZ 54.54, +2.60, +5.01%) and Fidelity Nat'l Info (FIS 51.06, +1.99, +4.06%) dotted the top of the standings. 

Similarly, Equifax (EFX 207.85, +9.73, +4.91%) and Paycom Software (PAYC 129.83, +5.92, +4.78%) were among the outperformers in the industrials sector (+0.6%). 

Elsewhere, the energy (+0.3%) and real estate (+0.5%) charted modest gains, rounding out the four S&P 500 sectors that finished in positive territory. 

Losses outside of the information technology sector were ultimately modest in nature, with nearly all sectors finishing above their worst levels. 

The communication services sector (-0.8%) was a relative laggard, as Alphabet (GOOG 307.15, -5.88, -1.88%) was among today's mega-cap underperformers. 

Tesla (TSLA 408.49, -8.84, -2.12%) and Amazon (AMZN 207.92, -2.72, -1.29%) finished similarly, though broad strength throughout the consumer discretionary sector (-0.4%), including solid gains across travel-related names such as Expedia Group (EXPE 217.93, +14.19, +6.96%) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH 25.03, +1.22, +5.12%), helped somewhat offset the weakness. 

The Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF finished 1.1% lower, weighing on the market-weighted S&P 500 (-0.5%) as it considerably underperformed the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (+0.6%). 

Outside of the S&P 500, the Russell 2000 (+0.5%) and S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.4%) recovered from early weakness to chart decent gains of their own. 

Ultimately, today's session was relatively "normal" in terms of what the market has displayed so far in 2026. A mega-cap industry leader (NVIDIA) delivered another staggering earnings report, yet valuation concerns and capital expenditure concerns across its hyperscaler customer base saw the stock retreat below its 50-day moving average (185.60). Meanwhile, there was select rotational strength across some cyclical sectors (aided by a rebound in software names) and an outperformance across small- and mid-cap stocks. 

After several days of mega-cap and tech outperformance, today's pullback has the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite entering the Friday session unchanged for the week, with the S&P 500 a touch above its own 50-day moving average. 

U.S. Treasuries climbed on Thursday, sending yields on 10s and 30s to their lowest closing levels of the year, while shorter tenors also recorded solid gains, though their yields remained a bit above 2026 lows. The 2-year note yield settled down two basis points to 3.45%, the 10-year note yield settled down three basis points to 4.02%, and the 30-year note yield settled down three basis points to 4.67%.

• S&P Mid Cap 400: +9.1% YTD
• Russell 2000: +8.8% YTD
• DJIA: +3.0% YTD
• S&P 500: +0.9% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: -1.6% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• Initial jobless claims for the week ending February 21 increased by 4,000 to 212,000 (Briefing.com consensus: 211,000). Continuing jobless claims for the week ending February 14 decreased by 31,000 to 1.833 million.
  
  • The key takeaway from the report is its persistent low-firing, low-hiring messaging.