By William Collins, consultant in stock markets – Eurasia Business News, February 18, 2026. Article no 2030
Stock indexes rose Wednesday February 18, led by the Nasdaq composite. Notable risers included the chip designers Cadence and Synopsys, and the e-commerce companies DoorDash and Shopify. The tech-heavy index has had a rough stretch, falling for four sessions before eking out a small gain on Tuesday.
The S&P 500 rose about 0.6–0.7%, adding roughly 38–45 points and closing near 6,880–6,885.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained about 0.3%, up roughly 129–162 points to finish just under 49,700.
The Nasdaq Composite advanced around 0.8–0.9%, rising about 175–207 points to roughly 22,750.
The small‑cap Russell 2000 added about 0.5%, closing near 2,660.
Drivers of the move
Tech and AI‑linked names led the advance, with Nvidia a key contributor after news of expanded AI chip use and easing worries about an AI‑driven tech slowdown.
Investor sentiment improved as concerns about AI disruption moderated and traders looked ahead to Federal Reserve meeting minutes for clues on the interest‑rate path, supporting broad risk appetite.
Context for week and year
The Nasdaq had been under pressure, logging four consecutive declines in prior sessions before managing a small gain on Tuesday, indicating a tentative stabilization in tech sentiment.
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Even after Wednesday’s rise, the index remains below its late‑2025 highs and is still down modestly month‑to‑date and year‑to‑date, reflecting ongoing volatility in growth and AI‑linked names.For the week to that point, all four major indexes were modestly positive, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up around 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.
Year‑to‑date, the Dow was up about 3% while the Nasdaq remained slightly negative, reflecting ongoing volatility in growth and tech shares despite the day’s rebound.
Gold price rally, gains 2.5%
Gold rallied on February 18, with spot and futures prices rising sharply and sitting near record territory.
Spot gold traded around 4,955–4,960 USD per ounce, up roughly 1.5–2.5% on the day, marking a strong rebound from the prior session’s drop.
Front‑month futures opened just under 4,900 USD per ounce and moved higher intraday, reflecting firm demand and tight supply conditions.
Compared with the previous day, gold gained about 60–80 USD per ounce, reversing more than half of the prior session’s decline.
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Over the past month, prices were up roughly 5–7%, and about 70% year‑over‑year, underscoring gold’s strong longer‑term uptrend despite short‑term volatility.
Persistent demand from large buyers in Asia, especially India and China, continued to underpin prices as gold held near all‑time highs set in January 2026.
Silver price gains 5%
Silver rose strongly on Wednesday, February 18, continuing its recent run at historically elevated levels.
Spot silver traded around 75–77 USD per troy ounce, up roughly 3.5–5% from Tuesday’s level near 73 USD.
The Gold/Silver ratio slipped to the mid‑60s, reflecting silver’s stronger move relative to gold on the day.
Daily and recent change
Silver gained about 2–3 USD per ounce versus the prior day, even though it remains down roughly 15–19% over the past month after pulling back from record highs in January.
Year‑over‑year, prices are still up well over 100%, keeping silver in a powerful longer‑term uptrend despite recent volatility.
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© Copyright 2026 – Eurasia Business News. Article no. 2030
Eurasia Business News 