Dow Jones Industrial Average Gains 200 Points as Fed Minutes Loom and Nvidia Rallies on Meta Deal
•February 18, 2026
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Companies Mentioned
Why It Matters
The rally signals renewed risk appetite before the Fed’s policy clues, while Nvidia’s deal underscores the growing strategic importance of AI chips. Palo Alto’s guidance shortfall highlights integration risks in large‑scale cybersecurity acquisitions.
Key Takeaways
- •Dow gains 300 points amid Fed minutes anticipation
- •Nvidia jumps 2% after expanded Meta AI‑chip deal
- •Palo Alto shares tumble 10% on weak Q3 guidance
- •Garmin and Wingstop post strong earnings beats
- •Gold tops $5,000 as safe‑haven demand rises
Pulse Analysis
Investors are cautiously optimistic as the Dow climbs, driven by expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain its current rate stance through March. The upcoming minutes are likely to shape market sentiment on whether the central bank will accelerate cuts later in the year. A modest rise in the index, coupled with a rebound in chip‑heavy stocks, suggests that the AI‑driven sell‑off of late January may be easing, allowing risk‑on trades to re‑enter portfolios.
Nvidia’s partnership expansion with Meta marks a pivotal moment for the AI‑chip ecosystem. By deploying millions of Nvidia’s Grace CPUs and Vera Rubin GPUs across Meta’s U.S. data centers, the deal not only secures a multi‑year revenue stream for Nvidia but also cements its dominance over rivals such as AMD, whose shares fell sharply. The agreement illustrates how leading tech firms are locking in hardware capacity to meet exploding generative‑AI workloads, a trend that will likely drive further consolidation and premium pricing in the semiconductor market.
Beyond the headline tech moves, earnings surprises from Garmin and Wingstop highlight resilience in consumer‑focused segments. Garmin’s robust EPS and upbeat 2026 guidance point to sustained demand for navigation and wearables, while Wingstop’s better‑than‑expected same‑store sales suggest discretionary spending remains resilient despite a modest dip. Concurrently, gold’s climb above $5,000 and oil’s rally reflect ongoing geopolitical risk and safe‑haven flows, underscoring the complex macro backdrop that investors must navigate as they position for both growth and defensive assets.
Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 200 points as Fed Minutes loom and Nvidia rallies on Meta deal
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) climbed around 300 points, or about 0.65%, on Wednesday as dip buyers continued stepping back into equities for a third consecutive session this week following last week's sharp AI‑driven sell‑off.
The S&P 500 rose 0.6 % and the Nasdaq Composite gained around 0.5 %, with chipmakers and beaten‑down mega‑cap tech names leading the charge. Investors are keeping one eye on the afternoon release of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) January meeting minutes at 2:00 PM ET, which may offer clues on the central bank’s rate path for the remainder of 2026. The Fed held rates at 3.50 % to 3.75 % at its January meeting, and markets are pricing in roughly a 90 % chance of no change in March, with the CME FedWatch Tool showing the first rate cut of the year isn’t expected until June at the earliest.
Nvidia surges on expanded Meta partnership
Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) jumped over 2 % and was among the top gainers on the Dow after Meta Platforms Inc. (META) announced a sweeping expansion of its AI‑chip partnership with the chipmaker. Meta will deploy millions of Nvidia chips across its U.S. data centers, including Nvidia’s new standalone Grace CPUs and next‑generation Vera Rubin GPU systems, in a deal analysts described as being worth tens of billions. The partnership boosted sentiment across the semiconductor space, though the news hit Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) particularly hard, with shares sliding nearly 4 % as the deal reinforced Nvidia’s dominance in the AI data‑center supply chain.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) rose nearly 2 % after regulatory filings revealed that Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square grew its stake in the e‑commerce giant by 65 % during the fourth quarter, helping the stock extend its recovery after snapping a nine‑day losing streak on Tuesday. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) led all Dow components higher, gaining nearly 3 %.
Palo Alto Networks sinks on guidance miss
Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW) tumbled around 10 % after the cybersecurity firm’s fiscal third‑quarter earnings guidance came in well below expectations, overshadowing a solid beat on its second‑quarter results. The company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.03 on revenue of $2.59 billion, topping estimates of $0.94 and $2.58 billion, respectively. However, the fiscal Q3 EPS outlook of $0.78 to $0.80 badly missed the $0.92 consensus, weighing on shares that were already down 11 % year‑to‑date. Analysts pointed to rising integration costs from Palo Alto’s $25 billion acquisition of CyberArk and the $3 billion Chronosphere deal as the key culprits behind the profit squeeze.
Applied Digital Inc. (APLD) fell nearly 8 % after a filing revealed that Nvidia had exited its $177 million stake in the company.
Garmin and Wingstop deliver blowout quarters
Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) surged after reporting fourth‑quarter adjusted EPS of $2.79 on revenue of $2.12 billion, crushing estimates of $2.39 and $2.01 billion. The navigation and wearables maker also issued fiscal‑year 2026 EPS guidance of $9.35, well above the $8.51 consensus, and projected revenue of $7.9 billion versus estimates of $7.4 billion.
Separately, Wingstop Inc. (WING) soared more than 13 % after the chicken‑wing chain reported better‑than‑feared same‑store sales and an earnings beat. The company posted adjusted EPS of $1.00 versus estimates of $0.84, while domestic same‑store sales declined 5.8 % in the fourth quarter, less than the steeper drop analysts had been bracing for. Wingstop guided for flat to low‑single‑digit domestic same‑store‑sales growth in 2026.
Gold reclaims $5K, Oil spikes on geopolitical risk
Gold climbed above $5,000 per ounce on Wednesday, hovering near a two‑week high as expectations for a more accommodative Fed continued to support the precious metal. The People’s Bank of China extended its gold purchases for a 15th consecutive month in January, adding structural demand underneath prices that are still recovering from the late‑January crash triggered by the nomination of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair.
Crude oil surged more than 2 % to nearly $64 per barrel amid heightened tensions around the Russia‑Ukraine conflict and reports that Iran is ignoring core U.S. demands in nuclear talks.
On the housing front, December housing starts came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.4 million, above expectations, though the data was delayed from its original January release date due to the lingering effects of the federal government shutdown earlier this year.
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