Wall Street Stocks Tumbled on Fears of AI Driven Disruption

All three major U.S. indexes closed more than 1% lower in a broad selloff, as risk appetite was weighed down by two converging forces- persistent concerns over AI’s disruptive potential and President Trump’s erratic trade policy, which has been a primary source of market volatility throughout the first year of his second term.

The Dow Jones plunged 822 points, or 1.7%, as investors digested Trump’s newly imposed 15% global tariff — a measure prompted by the Supreme Court’s Friday ruling that struck down his emergency tariff authority. Renewed anxiety over AI disruption across software, consulting, and payments triggered broad-based selling. The S&P 500 fell 1%, slipping back into negative territory for 2026.

IBM led the declines, crashing 13%, its steepest single-day loss since October 2000 and its worst performance in more than 25 years after Anthropic unveiled Claude Code, an AI tool capable of modernising Cobol, the legacy programming language that underpins IBM’s core business. Accenture and Cognizant fell sharply in sympathy, and software stocks faced heavy selling pressure across the board.

Financials were the worst-performing S&P 500 sector, dropping 3% in their steepest decline since April. The selloff was partly triggered by Blue Owl Capital’s suspension of redemptions, which reignited concerns about the fragility of private credit markets. KKR fell 9%, American Express declined 7.7%, and Capital One dropped 7.5%.

China kept its benchmark lending rates unchanged for a ninth consecutive month. The one-year loan prime rate held at 3.0% and the five-year rate at 3.5%.

Asian equity markets opened tentatively today, rattled by Wall Street’s overnight losses and clouded by uncertainty over U.S. tariff policy and rising geopolitical tensions. Crude oil edged up to $66.52 a barrel, supported by the resumption of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks on Thursday against a backdrop of American military buildup in the Middle East.

The Nifty extended its winning streak for a second consecutive session, climbing 141 points to settle at 25,713. The index opened firmly higher after the US Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling struck down President Trump’s broad emergency tariffs, but corrected nearly 160 points from its morning peak of 25,771 to hit 25,609 before rebounding over 110 points. Nifty failed to clear the 25,885 resistance. A decisive move above it could propel Nifty toward 26,000, while 25,370 remains a key support level.

Source: HSL Prime Daily, 24 Feb 2026