Wall Street Slumps on AI Angst and Tariff Turmoil

2026-02-23 21:02 By Felipe Alarcon 1 min. read

The S&P 500 dropped 0.9%, the Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.2%, and the Dow fell 1.6% points on Monday, as renewed anxiety over AI-led economic disruption and US trade policy drove investors away from riskier assets.

US President Trump increased global tariffs to 15% under Section 122, prompting the European Parliament to pause ratification of its trade deal with the US, and raising questions on the policy's longevity since Congress is unlikely to approve the measures beyond the 150-day window.

The hike followed the Supreme Court's rejection of the administration's "reciprocal" tariffs last week.

Software stocks and payment firms took heavy losses on AI displacement fears, with IBM plunging 13.1% after Anthropic launched new coding tools and American Express tanking 7.2% following research warning of massive AI-driven unemployment.

In contrast, defensive staples like Walmart gained 2.3%.

Lastly, Nvidia was slightly higher ahead of its earnings this week.



News Stream
US Futures Stabilize After AI-Driven Selloff
US stock futures steadied on Tuesday after the major indexes tumbled in the prior session amid renewed concerns that rapid AI advances could disrupt multiple industries. President Donald Trump’s threat to raise global tariffs to 15% and escalating tensions between the US and Iran further weighed on sentiment. In regular trading on Monday, the Dow fell 1.66%, the S&P 500 slid 1.04% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.13%. Software names and payment companies led the losses on fears of AI displacement, with IBM plunging 13.1% after Anthropic unveiled new coding tools. American Express also sank 7.2% following research flagging the risk of widespread AI-driven job losses. Other notable decliners included CrowdStrike (-9.9%), Oracle (-4.6%), Applovin (-9.1%), Visa (-4.5%) and Mastercard (-5.8%). Investors are now focused on key earnings releases this week from Home Depot, Nvidia, Salesforce and Snowflake, among others.
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The Dow Jones Index Closes 1.78% Lower
The Dow Jones Index decreased -883 points or 1.78 percent on Monday to close at 48742 points. The decline was led by IBM (-13.40%), American Express (-7.32%) and Salesforce (-5.11%).
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Wall Street Slumps on AI Angst and Tariff Turmoil
The S&P 500 dropped 0.9%, the Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.2%, and the Dow fell 1.6% points on Monday, as renewed anxiety over AI-led economic disruption and US trade policy drove investors away from riskier assets. US President Trump increased global tariffs to 15% under Section 122, prompting the European Parliament to pause ratification of its trade deal with the US, and raising questions on the policy's longevity since Congress is unlikely to approve the measures beyond the 150-day window. The hike followed the Supreme Court's rejection of the administration's "reciprocal" tariffs last week. Software stocks and payment firms took heavy losses on AI displacement fears, with IBM plunging 13.1% after Anthropic launched new coding tools and American Express tanking 7.2% following research warning of massive AI-driven unemployment. In contrast, defensive staples like Walmart gained 2.3%. Lastly, Nvidia was slightly higher ahead of its earnings this week.
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