Weekly Market Recap | Feb 16 – Feb 22

Analyst Highlights

Tariff volatility remains dominant macro driver, influencing equities, bonds, currencies, and commodity hedging behavior.
AI capital race intensifies globally, with sovereign funds, Big Tech, and emerging markets accelerating infrastructure investment.
Commodities reflect geopolitical premium: energy risk rising while precious metals signal defensive positioning.
Treasury sentiment turning cautious as deficit concerns and inflation resilience complicate Fed policy outlook.
EM equities and Latin America flows indicate broadening risk appetite beyond US mega-cap dominance.
IPO pipeline skewed toward SPACs suggests selective risk-taking rather than full primary market reopening.

Armada Acquisition Corp. III (AACIU, NASDAQ Global) is a Cayman Islands SPAC targeting FinTech, SaaS, and AI business combinations. It priced its IPO on Feb. 18, 2026, offering 22.5M units at $10.00 per unit and raising $225M.
Paloma Acquisition Corp I (PALOU, Nasdaq Global Market) is a blank-check SPAC formed to pursue a business combination. It priced its IPO on Feb. 20, 2026, offering 15.0M units at $10.00 per unit and raising $150M.
Averin Capital Acquisition Corp. (ACAAU, Nasdaq Global Stock Market) is a blank-check SPAC focused on targets at the intersection of technology and health. It priced its IPO on Feb. 20, 2026, offering 25.0M units at $10.00 per unit and raising $250M.
Abony Acquisition Corp. I (AACOU, NASDAQ Global) is a Cayman Islands SPAC focused on targets that align with its team’s background in defense technology, advanced computing, software, and media. It priced its IPO on Feb. 19, 2026, offering 20.0M units at $10.00 per unit and raising $200M.
Rank One Computing Corporation d/b/a ROC (ROC, Nasdaq Capital Market) is a Vision AI company building sovereign biometric, video analytics, and mission intelligence solutions into a unified platform. It priced its IPO on Feb. 19, 2026, offering 4.0M shares at $6.00 per share and raising $24M.

S&P 500 closed at 6,909.51, down 66.29 points (+0.97%) for the week.
Russell 1000 (IWB) osed at 3,772.68, up 36.49 points (+0.98%) for the week.
Russell 2000 closed at $2,663.78, up 17.19 points (+0.65%) for the week.
Russell 3000 closed at $3,934.81, up 37.47 points (+0.96%) for the week.
CBOE (VIX) closed at $19.09, down 1.20 points (−5.91%) for the week.
Dow Jones closed at $49,625.97, up 92.78 points (+0.19%) for the week.
NASDAQ closed at $22,886.07, up 307.69 points (+1.36%) for the week.
Bitcoin closed at $67,659.39, up 165.17 points (+0.24%) for the week.
Ethereum closed at $1,957.81, down 34.38 points (−1.73%) for the week.
Solana closed at $82.79, down 2.41 points (−2.83%) for the week.
XRP closed at $1.3931, down 0.0813 (−5.51%) for the week.
Gold closed at $5,059.30, up 176.40 points (+3.61%) for the week.
Silver closed at $82.28, up 8.83 points (+12.02%) for the week.
WTI Crude closed at $66.39, up 4.06 points (+6.51%) for the week.
Brent Crude closed at $71.76, up 4.34 points (+6.44%) for the week.

Supreme Court struck down Trump’s global tariffs; stocks rallied while Treasuries and the dollar fell, though markets expect a short-lived move.
Dollar holds tight range as tariff uncertainty lingers; Trump lifts global tariff to 15%, pressuring risk currencies while euro and yen edge higher.
Treasury sentiment tilts bearish after tariff ruling boosts deficit concerns; resilient jobs and inflation raise bar for Fed cuts, prompting short-Treasury calls.
Goldman lifts 2026 US investment-grade issuance forecast to $2.1T and Europe to €850B, citing strong supply and M&A-driven borrowing.
Big Tech AI capex crowds out buybacks; Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta post lowest combined repurchases since 2019.
Tariff ruling lifts emerging-market equities; BlackRock’s MSCI EM ETF hits record as global risk appetite improves.
European stocks hit record after US Supreme Court struck down tariffs; Stoxx 600 rose 0.8%, luxury shares led gains.
Oil traders rush to hedge Iran risk as Brent posts strongest start since 2022, topping $72 amid rising US strike fears.

Supreme Court struck down global tariffs, a major blow to Trump’s leverage-based trade strategy.
After Supreme Court tariff reversal, Trump raised global tariffs to 15%, escalating trade tensions and inviting fresh legal and political challenges.
EU Parliament trade chief may freeze ratification of the Turnberry US trade deal, demanding clarity and legal assurances amid Trump tariff chaos.
UK risks biggest hit from Trump tariff reset: preferential 10% may rise to 15%, adding up to £3bn costs, impacting 40,000 exporters.
Powell is “Trump-proofing” Fed independence by highlighting dissent and courting Congress after a rare 9–3 rate-cut vote split.
US builds largest Middle East force since 2003 as Trump gives Iran 10–15 days for a nuclear deal ahead Feb 26 Geneva talks.
Brazil and India agreed a critical-minerals framework to boost processing and rare-earth supply chains, reducing reliance on China.
US to boost missile and drone deployments in the Philippines, deepening defense ties and condemning China’s South China Sea actions.

OpenAI forecasts revenue topping $280B by 2030, citing strong subscriptions and ad tests while planning massive AI infrastructure spending.
OpenAI funding round phase one may top $100B, with valuation potentially exceeding $850B, backed by Amazon, SoftBank, Nvidia and Microsoft.
OpenAI partners with Tata on India AI buildout, including a TCS data center potentially scaling to 1GW and agentic industry solutions; training included.
Ambani says Reliance and Jio will invest up to ₹10T ($110B) in AI infrastructure over seven years, aiming to cut AI costs.
ECB ramps scrutiny of banks’ AI exposure, seeking data-center lending details and reviewing how lenders use generative AI for governance and risk controls.
ByteDance expands US AI hiring with ~100 roles for its Seed division, boosting LLM and generative tools after TikTok divestment deal.
Saudi AI firm Humain invests $3B in Musk’s xAI as part of a $20B round, deepening Saudi push to become AI hub.

👉 Keep the conversation going! Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more insights, delivered straight to your inbox.