Public Markets 3d Briefing
×Market Performance & Tech Disruption
The S&P 500 bloomberg.com rose as traders assessed fallout from AI-fueled market turbulence, while software stocks rebounded investing.com after Anthropic partnerships eased AI disruption fears. However, investors dumped software stocks finance.yahoo.com as earnings failed to stem the selloff, with option traders piling into bets against software-exposed loan ETFs bloomberg.com following a Citrini Research report on AI risks. The report warned that AI could significantly displace workers and disrupt consumption-driven economies like the US, mapping out a playbook for dealing with the technological upheaval.
Corporate Moves & Valuations
Stripe bloomberg.com reached a $159 billion valuation in an employee tender offer as payment volume soared, while Arm Holdings investing.com saw potential for greater CPU market share according to Bof A. JPMorgan upgraded Domino's investing.com citing steady global growth warranting higher valuation, as the pizza chain logged higher revenue on US same-store sales growth. Meanwhile, Novo Nordisk halved US prices ft.com for weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic to compete with rival Eli Lilly, though Lilly slipped on the news.
Bond Markets & Banking
US Treasury yields bloomberg.com approached 4% as the rally stalled ahead of debt auctions, with JPM's Bob Michele bloomberg.com calling bonds a "perfectly priced market" citing favorable tailwinds. US banks bloomberg.com showed gains in key metrics despite profit dips, with deposit insurance funds continuing to tick higher. However, Jamie Dimon warned finance.yahoo.com markets resembled the pre-financial crisis era, citing concerns about "dumb things" being done in the credit market.
AI Infrastructure & Energy
Meta finance.yahoo.com committed billions to AMD gear and stock as part of a massive AI buildout, with Meta and AMD announcing a 6-gigawatt GPU deal finance.yahoo.com that sent AMD stock surging 14%. Brookfield bloomberg.com bought cloud-computing firm Ori Industries to bet on AI-driven chip demand, while investors sought shelter from AI disruption ft.com in asset-heavy stocks like energy and utilities. The AI infrastructure boom is channeling billions into data centers, with firms like OpenAI targeting $665 billion in spending by 2030.
Trade Policy & Geopolitics
The Supreme Court struck down Trump's emergency tariffs bloomberg.com, creating chaos in trade policy and benefiting Chinese export stocks as lower duties were set for China. Colombia slapped 30% reciprocal tariffs bloomberg.com on Ecuador, escalating their trade dispute, while Mexico's inflation data bloomberg.com may keep March rate cut in play. The EU plans to propose a Russian oil ban bloomberg.com just days after Hungary's election, as Russia's crude shipments bloomberg.com scraped gains to offset pipeline losses to Hungary and Slovakia.
Energy Markets
French power prices bloomberg.com dropped to their lowest since June as solar generation surged, while US natural gas futures bloomberg.com declined on warmer weather forecasts. America's LNG dominance bloomberg.com continues to redraw the global gas landscape, with the US leading in volumes and flexibility. Meanwhile, Iran's crude loadings wsj.com soared to multiyear highs amid regional risks ahead of nuclear talks with Washington.
Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals
Medtronic's diabetes business Mini Med bloomberg.com sought up to $784 million in a US IPO, while Novo Nordisk slashed US list prices bloomberg.com for Wegovy and Ozempic next year. The Danish firm is struggling to compete with Eli Lilly in the obesity market, though Novo's price cuts created volatility in pharma stocks.
Regional Markets & Currencies
EM currencies slipped bloomberg.com as the dollar firmed amid Trump tariff uncertainty, while Colombia's peso bloomberg.com defied economic woes after a hawkish monetary pivot. Hungary cut its key rate bloomberg.com for the first time in 18 months but pledged caution to protect the forint. Indonesia's wealth fund bloomberg.com faced leadership questions after its co-CIO resigned, deepening a management vacuum.
Consumer & Retail
Home Depot wsj.com reported lower fourth-quarter profit as the home improvement downturn continued amid economic uncertainty and high interest rates. Keurig Dr Pepper wsj.com saw sales rise on higher prices, with the company offering an upbeat 2026 outlook boosted by its planned purchase of JDE Peet's. However, Planet Fitness shares sank wsj.com on weak guidance despite higher quarterly profit.
Automotive & Manufacturing
Hyundai bloomberg.com proposed building hydrogen fuel-cell infrastructure in Canada as part of South Korea's submarine bid, while Honda suspended operations ft.com at a Mexican plant after a cartel killing. Detroit went all-in on gas guzzlers bloomberg.com, bringing back big V8s at the expense of EV production after Trump zeroed out fuel economy penalties.
Private Equity & Investment
Private equity's dry spell bloomberg.com worsened beyond the 2008 crisis, with firms sitting on $3.8 trillion of unsold assets and struggling to raise new funds. Raine Group wsj.com hired a former Credit Suisse IPO veteran, betting on 2026 being a blockbuster year for tech debuts and fundraising. Meanwhile, Reform UK planned to use £500 billion ft.com in council pension assets to invest in British businesses, though experts responded skeptically to the sovereign wealth fund proposal.