US Stock Market Sector Analysis – Monday, February 23, 2026 BEARISH

Tariff headlines and renewed AI-sector jitters set the tone in the US stock market today, sending futures higher intraday even as pockets of selling hit technology-linked names. The most impactful moves flowed from tariff anxiety and AI security fears that pressured cybersecurity and IT-services names — Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) slid 6.4% and Accenture (ACN) fell 6.6% — while defensive and commodity sectors outperformed; Eli Lilly (LLY) led gainers with a 4.9% rise and Exxon Mobil (XOM) climbed 2.4%. The Magnificent 7 were mixed overall, with NVIDIA (NVDA) up 0.9% but Microsoft (MSFT) down 3.2%, leaving the Mag 7 aggregate down 1.5% on the day and the S&P 500 struggling to find clear direction. Today's market events reinforce bifurcation across sectors and heighten focus on AI-related news flow and tariff developments as drivers of near-term volatility in the S&P 500.

Market Condition Dashboard

US 10-Year Treasury Yield

Wait & Watch

4.03%

stable

Impact

Confidence

Crude Oil (WTI)

Neutral

$66.31

-0.1% 1D

Impact

Confidence

VIX (Fear Index)

Elevated Caution

21.0

+10.1% 1D

Impact

Confidence

200-Day Moving Average

Bullish Trend Intact

0/3 below

SPY above (+5.1%), QQQ above (+3.1%), DIA above (+6.6%)

Impact

Confidence

Tracked Stocks Breadth (50DMA)

Healthy Uptrend

54%

37 of 68 above 50DMA · +4.4pp 5D

Impact

Confidence

Put/Call Ratio (5D)

Caution

0.83

Call-Heavy · stable

Impact

Confidence

Signal analysis only — not investment advice

Sector Performance (Base=100)

AI and Technology Sector Analysis

AI-related positioning remained a central theme: NVIDIA (NVDA) $191.32 held modest gains as investors leaned into semiconductor exposure, but the broader Mag 7 cohort showed strain—Microsoft (MSFT) $383.64 and Amazon (AMZN) $205.27 both traded lower as investors reassessed AI-capex cadence. Weakness in the Chip Supply Chain (20d -1.8%, 50d -8.0%) and the slide in Enterprise Software (50d -33.0%) underscore that hardware demand optimism is being tempered by delayed software spend and integration risk. Infrastructure providers will be watched closely for capex signals while enterprise software names must demonstrate revenue stability to justify AI-related multiples.

US Stock Sector Overview

Sector	1D	5D	20D	vs 50MA
Mag 7 (AI Spenders)	-1.5%	+0.5%	-6.4%	BELOW
Chip Supply Chain	-1.3%	-1.9%	-1.8%	BELOW
Infrastructure	-3.1%	-0.5%	+6.5%	BELOW
Enterprise Software	-3.8%	-3.8%	-22.4%	BELOW
Finance	-3.7%	-2.8%	-2.7%	BELOW
Healthcare	+1.1%	-0.1%	-10.0%	BELOW
Retail	+1.2%	-2.5%	+4.0%	ABOVE
IT Services	-9.9%	-11.0%	-26.3%	BELOW
Airlines	-4.4%	-5.8%	-0.7%	BELOW
Hospitality & Travel	-3.3%	-5.7%	-8.0%	BELOW
Food & Restaurant	-0.6%	+0.7%	+3.0%	ABOVE
Logistics	-1.3%	+0.9%	+17.5%	ABOVE
Industrial	-0.4%	-0.5%	+14.4%	ABOVE
Cybersecurity	-7.7%	-14.8%	-26.7%	BELOW
Chip Equipment	-0.2%	+3.9%	+10.4%	ABOVE
Data Center REITs	+1.1%	-1.4%	+13.1%	ABOVE
Utilities	+1.3%	+1.9%	+9.1%	ABOVE
Energy	+1.4%	+2.8%	+12.0%	ABOVE
Defense & Aerospace	-0.6%	+1.0%	+4.6%	ABOVE
Telecom	+1.6%	+0.4%	+21.3%	ABOVE
Media & Entertainment	-2.2%	-1.1%	-8.7%	BELOW
Biotech	+0.1%	-0.9%	+9.0%	ABOVE
Materials	+0.5%	+2.7%	+8.7%	ABOVE
Analog & Embedded Chips	-0.4%	-2.5%	+7.8%	ABOVE

Sector Strength

Telecom +1.6% 20d: +21.3%

T-Mobile (TMUS) +2.1% (20d: +17.0%), AT&T (T) +1.9% (20d: +21.6%), Verizon (VZ) +0.9% (20d: +25.4%)

Energy +1.4% 20d: +12.0%

Exxon Mobil (XOM) +2.4% (20d: +12.6%), Chevron (CVX) +0.5% (20d: +11.5%)

Utilities +1.3% 20d: +9.1%

NextEra Energy (NEE) +2.0% (20d: +10.1%), Southern Co (SO) +0.9% (20d: +8.8%), Duke Energy (DUK) +0.8% (20d: +8.5%)

Retail +1.2% 20d: +4.0%

Walmart (WMT) +2.3% (20d: +6.9%), Costco (COST) +0.1% (20d: +1.0%)

Healthcare +1.1% 20d: -10.0%

Eli Lilly (LLY) +4.9% (20d: -0.2%), UnitedHealth (UNH) -2.6% (20d: -19.7%) [<50MA]

Sector Warnings

IT Services -9.9% 20d: -26.3% CRITICAL

IBM -13.1% (20d: -24.2%) [<50MA], Accenture (ACN) -6.6% (20d: -28.3%) [<50MA]

Cybersecurity -7.7% 20d: -26.7% CRITICAL

Zscaler (ZS) -10.3% (20d: -33.2%) [<50MA], CrowdStrike (CRWD) -9.8% (20d: -25.2%) [<50MA], Palo Alto Networks (PANW) -3.1% (20d: -21.8%) [<50MA]

Airlines -4.4% 20d: -0.7%

United (UAL) -5.2% (20d: -0.5%) [<50MA], Delta (DAL) -3.7% (20d: -0.9%) [<50MA]

Enterprise Software -3.8% 20d: -22.4% CRITICAL

Adobe (ADBE) -4.6% (20d: -19.0%) [<50MA], Salesforce (CRM) -3.8% (20d: -22.3%) [<50MA], Palantir (PLTR) -3.4% (20d: -22.0%) [<50MA]

Finance -3.7% 20d: -2.7%

JPMorgan (JPM) -4.2% (20d: -1.1%) [<50MA], Goldman Sachs (GS) -3.2% (20d: -4.2%) [<50MA]

Sector Deep Dive

Cybersecurity entered the day under heavy pressure, reflecting headlines around AI-agent security and integration worries; the sector is down 7.7% on the day and sits 33.0% below its 50-day context. CrowdStrike (CRWD) $87.58 fell 9.8% as Claude Code security commentary sparked re-rating concerns, and Zscaler (ZS) $143.28 dropped 10.3% amid mixed news on its India lab and zero-trust strategy. Over the 50-day window the sector's deterioration is acute, signaling investor rotation away from high-multiple security names while buyers wait for margin and product roadmap clarity.

IT Services moved sharply lower and is exhibiting clear 50-day weakness, trading 27.1% below that moving average as the group wrestles with AI partnership execution and contract timing. Accenture (ACN) $197.12 declined 6.6% despite new OpenAI ties, illustrating market skepticism about near-term revenue realization, while IBM $221.72 plunged 13.1% and amplified the group sell-off. The 50-day trend points to a sustained de-risking of legacy outsourcers and consultancies until deal visibility improves and AI monetization paths become concrete.

Energy bucked the risk-off tone as commodity and utility-linked names outperformed, with the sector up 1.4% on the day and holding a robust 50-day advance of 25.1%. Exxon Mobil (XOM) $149.74 climbed 2.4% as oil price dynamics supported earnings visibility, and NextEra Energy (NEE) $92.74 gained 2.0% amid defensive flows into utilities. Over the 50-day window, Energy’s strength is a clear pillar for broader market resilience and offers a relative-value alternative to structurally challenged tech sub-sectors.

Chip Equipment shows a mixed technical read: the group is modestly lower today at -0.2% but remains well above its 50-day average by 37.6%, reflecting earlier capex-driven optimism for AI infrastructure. NVIDIA (NVDA) $191.32 posted a small gain of 0.9% and remains 4.2% above its 50-day level, while the broader Chip Supply Chain is lagging (50d -8.0%). The 50-day backdrop suggests equipment demand narratives are intact, yet distributors and downstream suppliers are under pressure as inventory and near-term orders are reassessed.

Market Breadth Analysis

US stock market breadth analysis shows 13 of 24 sectors trading above their 50-day moving average, while 11 are below. The majority of sectors holding above the 50-day MA indicates healthy medium-term momentum. With 14 sectors positive over 20 days, buying pressure remains broad-based.

Interactive Charts

S&P 500 & NASDAQ 100

50-Day Sector Performance

1-Day vs 5-Day Sector Change

Active Alerts

HIGH Enterprise Software down -22.4% over 20 days

HIGH IT Services down -26.3% over 20 days

HIGH Cybersecurity down -26.7% over 20 days

HIGH Enterprise Software down -33.0% over 50 days

HIGH IT Services down -27.1% over 50 days

HIGH Cybersecurity down -33.0% over 50 days

HIGH 7 sectors declining >5% over 20 days: Mag 7 (AI Spenders), Enterprise Software, Healthcare, IT Services, Hospitality & Travel, Cybersecurity, Media & Entertainment

HIGH 4 sectors declining >10% over 50 days: Enterprise Software, IT Services, Cybersecurity, Media & Entertainment

MEDIUM MSFT down -20.0% from 20-day high

MEDIUM AMZN down -16.1% from 20-day high

Stock-Level Detail

Mag 7 (AI Spenders) Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
NVDA	$191.32	+0.9%	+3.6%	+2.7%	+4.2%	ABOVE	0
AAPL	$265.93	+0.6%	+0.9%	+4.3%	-4.4%	ABOVE	0
GOOG	$311.28	-1.0%	+2.9%	-6.6%	-2.9%	BELOW	1
AMZN	$205.27	-2.3%	+2.0%	-13.9%	-11.4%	BELOW	1
META	$636.12	-2.8%	-0.3%	-5.2%	-1.9%	BELOW	1
TSLA	$399.83	-2.9%	-2.6%	-8.1%	-11.4%	BELOW	1
MSFT	$383.64	-3.2%	-2.9%	-18.1%	-19.5%	BELOW	3

Chip Supply Chain Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
TSM	$368.14	-0.1%	+1.6%	+11.2%	+19.6%	ABOVE	1
AVGO	$329.13	-0.7%	-0.7%	+1.7%	-19.9%	BELOW	2
INTC	$43.63	-1.1%	-5.5%	+2.7%	+7.0%	BELOW	5
ARM	$123.78	-1.4%	-2.5%	+7.9%	-12.5%	ABOVE	3
QCOM	$139.00	-1.7%	-1.6%	-9.1%	-22.9%	BELOW	1
AMD	$196.60	-1.8%	-3.2%	-21.8%	-11.2%	BELOW	2
MRVL	$77.73	-2.1%	-1.5%	-4.9%	-15.8%	BELOW	2

Infrastructure Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
VRT	$245.31	+0.7%	+0.8%	+35.4%	+35.0%	ABOVE	0
CSCO	$77.03	-1.8%	+1.2%	+0.9%	-2.6%	ABOVE	1
DELL	$118.77	-2.6%	+2.6%	+2.8%	-14.9%	BELOW	1
SMCI	$30.71	-5.3%	+2.0%	-0.3%	-12.0%	BELOW	1
HPE	$19.81	-6.4%	-9.0%	-6.4%	-20.3%	BELOW	5

Enterprise Software Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
NOW	$100.80	-3.3%	-4.8%	-26.1%	-41.0%	BELOW	3
PLTR	$130.60	-3.4%	-1.8%	-22.0%	-30.5%	BELOW	1
CRM	$177.26	-3.8%	-3.3%	-22.3%	-32.5%	BELOW	3
ADBE	$246.68	-4.6%	-5.3%	-19.0%	-28.1%	BELOW	3

Finance Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
GS	$883.74	-3.2%	-2.6%	-4.2%	+0.3%	BELOW	1
JPM	$294.83	-4.2%	-3.1%	-1.1%	-3.6%	BELOW	1

Healthcare Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
LLY	$1056.74	+4.9%	+2.2%	-0.2%	+6.7%	ABOVE	0
UNH	$278.57	-2.6%	-2.3%	-19.7%	-14.0%	BELOW	1

Retail Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
WMT	$125.31	+2.3%	-2.4%	+6.9%	+11.4%	ABOVE	0
COST	$984.59	+0.1%	-2.6%	+1.0%	+12.9%	ABOVE	0

IT Services Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
ACN	$197.12	-6.6%	-8.5%	-28.3%	-26.1%	BELOW	1
IBM	$221.72	-13.1%	-13.5%	-24.2%	-28.2%	BELOW	1

Airlines Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
DAL	$66.36	-3.7%	-5.6%	-0.9%	-4.4%	BELOW	1
UAL	$107.17	-5.2%	-6.0%	-0.5%	-0.5%	BELOW	1

Hospitality & Travel Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
MAR	$341.29	-1.5%	-4.8%	+8.2%	+19.4%	ABOVE	4
BKNG	$154.09	-5.1%	-6.5%	-24.2%	-26.6%	BELOW	1

Food & Restaurant Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
MCD	$330.46	+1.6%	+2.1%	+6.9%	+7.7%	ABOVE	0
SBUX	$94.23	-2.8%	-0.6%	-1.0%	+13.8%	ABOVE	1

Logistics Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
FDX	$306.79	-1.2%	+2.2%	+26.0%	+35.7%	ABOVE	1
UPS	$113.11	-1.5%	-0.4%	+9.0%	+17.0%	ABOVE	1

Industrial Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
HON	$252.27	-0.4%	+0.2%	+9.9%	+26.6%	ABOVE	1
CAT	$755.03	-0.4%	-1.1%	+19.0%	+23.2%	ABOVE	2

Cybersecurity Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
PANW	$144.14	-3.1%	-11.8%	-21.8%	-25.3%	BELOW	5
CRWD	$87.58	-9.8%	-15.4%	-25.2%	-32.6%	BELOW	2
ZS	$143.28	-10.3%	-17.0%	-33.2%	-41.1%	BELOW	5

Chip Equipment Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
ASML	$1482.75	+1.1%	+4.7%	+5.3%	+32.9%	ABOVE	0
AMAT	$373.09	-0.5%	+4.1%	+17.1%	+35.9%	ABOVE	1
LRCX	$241.81	-1.1%	+2.8%	+8.7%	+44.0%	ABOVE	1

Data Center REITs Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
EQIX	$935.89	+1.9%	-0.7%	+17.3%	+28.8%	ABOVE	0
DLR	$173.74	+0.2%	-2.1%	+9.0%	+11.3%	ABOVE	0

Utilities Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA
NEE	$92.74	+2.0%	+1.5%	+10.1%	+15.7%	ABOVE
SO	$94.40	+0.9%	+3.5%	+8.8%	+14.1%	ABOVE
DUK	$126.70	+0.8%	+0.9%	+8.5%	+13.1%	ABOVE

Energy Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
XOM	$149.74	+2.4%	+3.1%	+12.6%	+27.0%	ABOVE	0
CVX	$183.23	+0.5%	+2.4%	+11.5%	+23.3%	ABOVE	0

Defense & Aerospace Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
LMT	$652.88	+0.4%	+1.7%	+13.6%	+41.2%	ABOVE	0
GD	$345.84	-0.7%	+1.9%	-4.0%	+2.4%	BELOW	2
RTX	$201.08	-1.5%	-0.4%	+4.4%	+16.0%	ABOVE	1

Telecom Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA
TMUS	$217.72	+2.1%	+0.2%	+17.0%	+12.6%	ABOVE
T	$27.85	+1.9%	-0.6%	+21.6%	+18.3%	ABOVE
VZ	$48.12	+0.9%	+1.5%	+25.4%	+26.6%	ABOVE

Media & Entertainment Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
DIS	$103.62	-1.1%	-1.0%	-6.2%	-3.4%	BELOW	3
NFLX	$76.02	-3.4%	-1.3%	-11.3%	-18.0%	BELOW	1

Biotech Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
AMGN	$376.58	+1.2%	+1.6%	+9.3%	+21.1%	ABOVE	0
GILD	$148.01	-1.0%	-3.5%	+8.7%	+24.3%	ABOVE	1

Materials Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
APD	$279.75	+0.7%	+2.0%	+7.9%	+20.5%	ABOVE	0
LIN	$494.96	+0.3%	+3.3%	+9.5%	+26.9%	ABOVE	0

Analog & Embedded Chips Show individual tickers

Ticker	Price	1D	5D	20D	50D	vs 50MA	Down Days
TXN	$218.75	+0.1%	-2.6%	+12.6%	+21.8%	ABOVE	0
MCHP	$76.22	-0.9%	-2.4%	+3.0%	+13.5%	ABOVE	1

Key Stock Movers

Today's biggest movers by absolute percentage change: IBM (IT Services) fell 13.1% to $221.72. Zscaler (ZS) (Cybersecurity) fell 10.3% to $143.28. CrowdStrike (CRWD) (Cybersecurity) fell 9.8% to $87.58. Accenture (ACN) (IT Services) fell 6.6% to $197.12. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) (Infrastructure) fell 6.4% to $19.81. These individual stock movements were key drivers of their respective sector performance.

Risk and Opportunity Assessment

On the risk side, 8 high-severity alerts are currently active, signaling significant sector declines that warrant portfolio risk management attention. Consider reducing exposure to affected sectors and tightening stop-loss levels.

US Stock Market Outlook

Market breadth is mixed with 13 sectors above their 50MA and 11 below, and active alerts highlight concentrated risk: four sectors down more than 10% over 50 days and three high-severity themes (Enterprise Software, IT Services, Cybersecurity) flagged for sustained weakness. With seven sectors declining over 20 days and headline-driven intraday swings from tariffs and AI news, positioning should favor earnings-resilient cyclicals and selective energy/utility exposure while trimming high-multiple software and IT-services risk. Monitor alert counts and 50-day trend flips closely; a favorable tactical entry will require stabilization in enterprise spend signals or a clear de-escalation in tariff/AI headline cadence.

Hypothetical Portfolio

SIMULATION

Value $102,701

P&L +2.70%

Today -1.22%

View full portfolio → Simulation only. Not investment advice.

← 2026-02-20

Calendar

2026-02-24 →