Wall Street ended the week lower as investors weighed fresh inflation data and persistent volatility in energy markets, with Brent crude topping $100 amid U.S.–Iran tensions.
Inflation data showed that the consumer price index rose 0.3% month-over-month in February, accelerating from a 0.2% increase in January and matching economists’ expectations.
The oil and gas sector, meanwhile, remained highly volatile as the ongoing U.S.–Iran conflict kept the Strait of Hormuz at the center of market attention. Brent crude settled above $100 per barrel on Thursday, marking its first close at that level in roughly three and a half years.
For the week, the S&P (SP500) lost -1.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) dipped -1.3%, and the blue-chip Dow (DJI) fell -2.0%.
Here’s what caught investor attention this week:
Oracle (ORCL) jumped after the company reported strong quarterly results, including 44% year-over-year growth in total cloud revenue and 84% growth in its cloud infrastructure segment. The surge was driven largely by demand for AI computing capacity and large infrastructure contracts tied to training and running AI models.
Investor Bill Ackman filed to list his hedge fund firm Pershing Square (PSHZF) on the New York Stock Exchange. The transaction will involve a dual listing structure where Pershing Square’s common shares and the shares of its closed-end fund, Pershing Square USA (PSUS) will both trade on the NYSE.
UiPath (PATH) plunged on Thursday despite beating estimates with its Q4 results. Q4 adjusted EPS of $0.30 topped estimates by $0.05, while revenue rose 13.5% Y/Y to $481.1M, exceeding forecasts by $16.3M. For Q1 FY2027, UiPath expects revenue of $395M–$400M (vs. $393.36M consensus), ARR of $1.894B–$1.899B, and non-GAAP operating income of about $80M.
Hims & Hers (HIMS) saw its stock surge about 41% after the company announced a partnership with Novo Nordisk (NVO), the maker of blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. As part of the deal, Novo Nordisk dropped its lawsuit against HIMS and agreed to allow its medications to be sold through HIMS’ telehealth platform, easing legal risks and opening a new growth channel for the company.
Adobe (ADBE) shares slipped after the company reported its first quarter fiscal 2026 financial results and announced that CEO Shantanu Narayen plans to step down from the position he’s held for 18 years. For the quarter ended February 27, Adobe reported adjusted earnings per share of $6.06 versus the consensus estimate of $5.87. Revenue for the first quarter increased 12% year over year to $6.4B, which was more than the $6.28B consensus.
Nebius (NBIS) shares gained after Nvidia (NVDA) announced a $2B investment and a strategic partnership to develop next-generation hyperscale AI cloud infrastructure. The Dutch AI infrastructure provider said the collaboration will support the deployment of more than 5 gigawatts of Nvidia systems by 2030.
Micron Technology (MU) shares jumped nearly 17% over the week amid bullish views from brokerages ahead of its second quarter results. Citi maintained its Buy rating on Micron Technology (MU) and increased the price target on the stock to $430 from $385, citing surging memory prices and AI demand. Wedbush Securities also reiterated its Outperform rating and raised its price target to $500 from $320, citing stronger-than-expected pricing. Micron is slated to report its second quarter results on March 18.
Centene (CNC) fell ~21% over the week after the managed care firm’s CEO, Sarah London, presented at the Barclays Healthcare Conference, flagging continuing headwinds in its operations in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. London stated that consistent with the company’s prior expectation of a high-teens to mid-30% drop, CNC expects the ACA membership decline to be “at the higher end of that and possibly higher than the top end of that” by the end of the year.
NIO (NIO) reported its first operating profit and strong revenue growth in Q4, posting a non-GAAP operating profit of RMB1.25B and total revenue of about RMB87.5B, driven by higher deliveries and a stronger mix of newer models.
Fertilizer stocks, Mosaic (MOS), Nutrien (NTR) and CF Industries (CF), rose as the Middle East war continues to disrupt fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. More than a third of global fertilizer trade moves through the waterway, and disruptions are hitting during the spring planting season.