MARKET WRAPS

STOCKS: Stocks rose as news of a chip deal between Meta and AMD helped ease concerns about disruption to incumbent technology companies from artificial intelligence.

TREASURYS: Treasury yields rose as risk appetite rebounded.

FOREX: The U.S. dollar rose slightly against rivals after mixed economic data.

COMMODITIES: Oil futures fell as traders awaited more talks between the U.S. and Iran.

HEADLINES

Meta and AMD Agree to AI Chips Deal Worth More Than $100 Billion

Meta Platforms has agreed to buy 6 gigawatts' worth of artificial intelligence computing power from Advanced Micro Devices in a deal valued at more than $100 billion that could result in Meta owning as much as 10% of AMD's stock.

The deal, announced by the companies Tuesday, represents a coup for AMD in its effort to challenge Nvidia in the market for selling graphics processing units, or GPUs-the microchips powering the AI boom.

Shares in AMD opened 7% higher Tuesday.

Consumer Confidence Improved In February

Consumer confidence edged higher in February, but still remained below heights reached in late 2024, a monthly survey from The Conference Board said.

Research group The Conference Board said Tuesday its consumer confidence index rose to 91.2 from an upwardly revised 89 in January. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected a reading of 86.8.

"Comments about prices, inflation and the cost of goods remained at the top of consumer's minds," said Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board. "Mentions of trade and politics also increased in February," she said.

Warner Receives Revised Bid From Paramount

Warner Bros. Discovery said Tuesday it has received a revised offer from Paramount to buy its entire company, but didn't provide details of what the offer included.

Warner said it is reviewing the bid. The board is tasked with determining if it is superior to Netflix's signed agreement to acquire its prized movie and TV studios and HBO Max streaming service.

Should Warner accept the Paramount offer, Netflix has the right to match it, under the terms of its purchase agreement. Netflix would have a four-day window to make a new offer.

Pentagon Gives Anthropic Ultimatum and Deadline in AI Use Standoff

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei until Friday to comply with the Pentagon's demands on using its artificial-intelligence models or face cancellation of the company's contract, people familiar with the matter said.

The ultimatum came at a Tuesday meeting at the Pentagon that ended in a stalemate, the people said. If Anthropic doesn't show more flexibility working with the military, Hegseth said he could also label the company a supply-chain risk, a move typically reserved for overseas companies linked to foreign adversaries, or invoke the Defense Production Act to essentially force the company to work more collaboratively with the Pentagon.

Either move would be nearly unprecedented, experts have said. Designating a company a supply-chain risk means that businesses working with the Pentagon would have to certify that they don't use Anthropic's Claude models in any of their work with the military, potentially affecting a swath of companies, including many in the tech sector. The Defense Production Act is typically used to control critical sectors such as energy and healthcare during national emergencies.

Novo Nordisk to Cut U.S. List Prices for Ozempic, Wegovy by Up to 50%

Novo Nordisk plans to slash U.S. list prices for its popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic by up to half starting next year.

Under the changes, both Ozempic and Wegovy will list for $675 a month, effective Jan. 1, 2027. That is half of the current price tag for anti-obesity therapy Wegovy and a 34% cut for diabetes treatment Ozempic. The price cuts also will apply to pill versions of both injections, including one sold as Rybelsus.

The reductions escalate a price war with rival Eli Lilly in one of the fastest-growing, most hotly contested categories in pharmaceuticals.

Home Depot Profit Falls As Home Improvement Downturn Continues

Home Depot reported lower fiscal fourth-quarter profit as economic uncertainty, high interest rates and a stagnant housing market continue to weigh on home-improvement activity.

"We continue to see pressure from consumer uncertainty and frozen housing conditions," said Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail in an interview. "Our customer who is the homeowner remains among the healthiest consumer cohorts, but they do tell us uncertainty is impacting their desire to spend on the home. They have concerns over affordability and job losses."

Home Depot raised prices in some categories last year to help offset tariffs. McPhail said those price hikes did impact demand, but that the company isn't planning additional pricing increases.

U.S. Home-Price Growth Slows In December

U.S. home-price growth slowed to its lowest annual level in over a decade as mortgage rates and inflation continued to weigh on home buyers.

The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, which measures home prices across the country, rose 1.3% in the 12 months through December, compared with a 1.4% increase in November.

"National home prices grew just 1.3% for the year-the weakest full-year gain since 2011," said Nicholas Godec at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Canada Certifies All Newer Gulfstream Jet Models to Defuse Trade Row

OTTAWA-Canada's aviation regulator has approved for flying Gulfstream's G700 and G800 aircraft models, potentially bringing to a close a trade row with Washington.

Late last week, Transport Canada issued certificates that approved the operation of the Gulfstream G500 and G600 models in Canadian airspace. On Tuesday, formal approval of Gulfstream's G700 and G800 models was made public.

In late January, President Trump threatened to ground aircraft from Montreal-based Bombardier from operating in the U.S. until Canadian authorities accelerated approval for the four newer Gulfstream jets. Trump also threatened tariffs on Canadian-made aircraft sold in the U.S. Gulfstream and Bombardier are fierce rivals in the business-jet market.

Spirit Airlines Reaches Deal With Creditors to Emerge From Bankruptcy

Spirit Airlines has reached an agreement with its lenders to emerge from bankruptcy by early summer as a smaller company.

The discount airline told a bankruptcy judge Tuesday that the deal with lenders will allow it to exit chapter 11 proceedings with a stronger balance sheet and reduced fleet size.

Spirit returned to bankruptcy court in August, less than a year after a previous chapter 11 restructuring failed to solve financial challenges presented by its no-frills business model.

Keurig Dr Pepper Sales Rise on Higher Prices

Keurig Dr Pepper reported high fourth-quarter sales, boosted by higher prices.

The beverage company swung to a profit of $353 million, or 26 cents a share, from a loss of $144 million, or 11 cents a share, a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings were 60 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 59 cents a share.

TALKING POINT Jamie Dimon Warns of 'Dumb Stuff' Risks. Here's Where He's Seeing It.

The problem with trying to heed a warning from the nation's most important banker, who is worried about rivals doing "dumb stuff" reminiscent of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, is that the stuff in question is really hard to see.

And that might be an even bigger concern than the risk itself.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, the personification of Wall Street's early warning system, told an investor event in New York on Monday that "there's always a surprise in a credit cycle" that can escalate into a larger financial crisis.

He added that some of the "dumb stuff" he saw during the 2008 crash, where lenders chased returns while ignoring risks, is starting to resurface. "My anxiety is high over it," he said.

The $3 trillion private-credit market is the latest corner of the global financial system to be caught up in the downdraft of selling tied to the artificial-intelligence investment trade. But, unlike the meltdowns in software stocks, or the pullback in the so-called Magnificent Seven tech giants, the private-credit crunch is much harder to track. It is even more difficult to evaluate.

"Our concerns have always been based on the fact that private capital experienced fast growth during the 'cheap money' years and remains opaque," said Deutsche Bank analyst Luke Templeman.

On the face of it, big downside moves in shares of some of the biggest names in the sector, such as Blue Owl Capital, Blackstone, and Apollo Global Management, make sense.

--Martin Baccardax, Barron's

Expected Major Events for Wednesday

00:01/UK: Jan Zoopla House Price Index

05:00/JPN: Jan Supermarket sales

05:30/JPN: Jan Tokyo area department store sales

05:30/JPN: Jan Nationwide department store sales

07:00/GER: 4Q GDP - Detailed breakdown

07:00/GER: Mar GfK consumer climate survey

07:45/FRA: Feb Consumer confidence survey

08:59/JPN: Feb Monthly Economic Report

12:00/US: 02/20 MBA Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey

13:30/CAN: 4Q Quarterly financial statistics for enterprises

15:30/US: 02/20 EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report

23:50/JPN: Feb Provisional Trade Statistics for 1st 10 days of Month

All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.

Expected Earnings for Wednesday

APi Group Corp (APG) is expected to report $0.26 for 4Q.

Amerigo Resources Ltd (ARG.T) is expected to report for 4Q.

Archrock Inc $(AROC)$ is expected to report $0.39 for 4Q.

Aspen Aerogels Inc (ASPN) is expected to report $-0.26 for 4Q.

Astec Industries Inc $(ASTE)$ is expected to report $0.54 for 4Q.

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February 24, 2026 16:57 ET (21:57 GMT)

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