Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during morning trading on February 24, 2026 in New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
The S&P 500 pulled back on Thursday as the latest results from tech titan Nvidia and software giant Salesforce weren’t enough to boost the broader market.
The broad market index fell 0.54% to end at 6,908.86, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.18% and closed at 22,878.38. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 17.05 points, or 0.03%, to settle at 49,499.20.
Nvidia shares fell more than 5%, even after the chip giant posted a fourth-quarter earnings and revenue beat. The stock suffered its worst day since April. Other chip stocks such as Broadcom, Lam Research, Western Digital and Applied Materials also slid.
“The market is very much in ‘prove it’ mode, and Nvidia just didn’t quite ‘prove it’ with these earnings,” said Tom Graff, Facet’s chief investment officer, said to CNBC, noting concerns around the chipmaker’s deal with OpenAI.
“Nvidia is dealing with the cross section of high expectations priced into the stock, but also a skeptical market,” he also said. “That will probably make for a bumpy ride for at least the next couple of quarters.”
On the flip side, Salesforce — which has been one of the biggest victims of recent artificial intelligence disruption fears — rose 4% after the software company’s latest quarterly results beat on the top and bottom lines. However, the company issued a disappointing fiscal 2027 revenue forecast.
“Salesforce earnings were solid, but its weak guidance is not helping to quell this software sentiment wreck,” said James Demmert, chief investment officer at Main Street Research. “Salesforce faces a rough future due to AI advancements, but we also think the software industry’s recent declines are a bit overdone.”
To be sure, software stocks saw gains Thursday, with the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV) advancing about 2%. The fund is still solidly in bear market territory, however, as it’s down roughly 30% from its recent high.
Along with software, other areas of the market moved higher in the session, including the financial, energy and real estate sectors. Notably, stocks such as JPMorgan Chase and CBRE Group were among the winners.
The moves follow an upbeat day for U.S. equities. Software and tech names bounced back in the regular session. Still, sentiment has been fragile in software and cybersecurity stocks this year as worries remain about the rapidly developing capabilities of AI products that could interfere with incumbent software vendors’ businesses.
