Markets Finish February in a Slough; Dow Suffers Steep Drop

This morning's hotter-than-expected inflation data from the producer price index (PPI) put a nail in the coffin of what has been an extremely volatile week for stocks. The Dow wrapped its worst weekly loss since Nov. 21 to go with its worst monthly performance since April. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 finished in the red for the day, week, and month, as AI worries and a grim Nvidia (NVDA) reaction haunted investor sentiment all week. Amidst this backdrop, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) logged its sixth weekly win in the last seven.

 Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• How Dell stock bucked the tech sector throwdown.
• A condensed rundown of Wall Street's wild week.
• Plus, Netflix walks; GOOGL holds key level; and stocks ready to burn bears.

5 Things to Know Today

1. Tensions are on the rise between Anthropic and the Department of Defense in Washington, though OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is looking to de-escalate. (CNBC)
2. After Netflix's (NFLX) decision to drop from the race to buy Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), Paramount Skydance (PSKY) has officially paid the $2.8 breakup fee. (Bloomberg)
3. More on Netflix's decision to walk.
4. Could now be the time to buy GOOGL?
5. 16 stocks ripe for a short squeeze.

Crude, Gold Surge as Iran Talks Continue

U.S.-Iran nuclear talks were extended into next week, giving crude prices a boost to close out February. The commodity earlier hit a seven-month high after President Donald Trump said an attack is still on the table. March-dated West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude added 2.8%, or $1.81, to settle at $67.02 per barrel on the day. For the week and month, oil rose 0.9% and 2.1%, respectively.

Also feeding off Iran-U.S. tensions, gold jumped to a one-month high. April-dated gold futures rose 1.1% to settle at $5,254 an ounce on the day. For the week and month the safe haven added 2.7% and 7.4%, respectively.