Stock Market News for Feb 13, 2026

U.S. stocks ended sharply lower on Thursday for the third consecutive session, due to a massive tech selloff as concerns grew over the potential downsides of the artificial intelligence boom, which could rattle the entire industry. All three major indexes ended in negative territory.

How Did The Benchmarks Perform?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 1.3% or 669.42 points, to end at 49,451.

The S&P 500 slipped 1.6% to finish at 6,832.76 points. Tech, financials and communication services stocks were the worst performers.

The Information Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) fell 2.6%. The Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) lost 2%. The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC) declined 1.8%. However, the Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU) gained 1.5%, while the Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) added 0.9%. Eight out of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled 2%, or 469.32 points, to close at 22,597.15 points.

The fear gauge, CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), was up 17.96% to 20.82. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 2.17-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 2.74-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 22.45 billion shares were traded on Thursday, higher than the last 20-session average of 20.78 billion.

On the NYSE, there were 748 new highs and 229 new lows. On the S&P 500, there were 99 new 52-week highs and 32 new lows.

AI Fears Grip Markets

Tech stocks have been taking a beating lately. Investors have been rotating out of tech stocks on growing concerns over the downsides of AI stocks. On Thursday, the selloff continued as fears grew over the potential of AI stocks compared to the billions of dollars pumped into the sector.

Some sections of the stock market have suffered this year following the rollout of AI tools that threaten to copy what they do or eat into their profit margins. Financial stocks, especially, have been feeling the heat on concerns that AI could hamper wealth management businesses. Shares of Morgan Stanley (MS) declined 4.9% on Thursday.

Several other sectors, such as transportation, logistics and real estate, also suffered due to the AI disruption fears. Shares of CBRE Group, Inc. (CBRE) plummeted 8.8%, while C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. (CHRW) tumbled 14.5%.

Investors’ sentiment was further dampened after Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) issued weak guidance for the current year. Cisco’s shares fell 12.3%. Currently, Cisco has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

As fears over tech and AI stocks grew, investors took refuge in more defensive sectors such as consumer staples and utilities. Shares of The Coca-Cola Company (KO) ended the day 0.5% higher.

Investors are now looking forward to the key inflation report scheduled for release on Friday. The January consumer price index (CPI) report will give them a clearer idea of the Federal Reserve’s future monetary policy. A solid jobs report released earlier this week has already raised concerns that the Federal Reserve could delay its next rate cut.

Economic Data

In economic data released on Thursday, the Labor Department said that jobless claims totaled 227,000 for the week ending Feb. 7, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 232,000. The four-week moving average was 219,500, an increase of 7,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 212,500.

Continuing claims came in at 1,862,000, an increase of 21,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 1,841,000. The 4-week moving average was 1,846,750, a decrease of 3,250 from the previous week's revised average of 1,850,000. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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