Tariff-policy uncertainty
The EU planned to pause approval of its U.S. trade agreement because of tariff risks, while Trump renewed criticism of Taiwan's chip industry after the Supreme Court tariff ruling.
Feb 23, 2026 · QQQ/SPY Market Review · 47 headlines
Tariff, labor and Iran risks frame a 1.03% QQQ decline and late partial rebound
QQQ and SPY opened below their previous closes, reached session lows shortly after noon and recovered part of those losses in after-hours and overnight trading. QQQ finished the period down 1.03%, versus a 0.92% decline for SPY. Tariff-policy uncertainty, Waller's labor-market and rate comments, weaker factory orders and Iran security headlines provided the day's main context, while a late DeepSeek report kept AI-chip restrictions in focus overnight.
Published
- QQQ
- -1.03%
- SPY
- -0.92%
- QQQ − SPY
- -0.11%
What shaped the session
Labor and rate sensitivity
Waller said AI could keep hiring weak and lead to significant layoffs, and that February labor data would shape his March rate vote. December factory orders also fell more than expected.
Iran security risk
Plans for U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva pointed to a diplomatic channel, while the Joint Chiefs chairman warned that military action against Iran could carry significant risks.
AI-chip restrictions
An overnight report said DeepSeek trained an AI model on NVIDIA's most advanced chip despite U.S. export restrictions, returning enforcement and semiconductor access to focus.
Key news
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