World shares, US futures gain as most Asian markets stay closed for
Lunar New Year holidays
[February 18, 2026] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
Shares in Europe and Asia were higher on Wednesday, with Japan’s
benchmark gaining more than 1% after a quiet finish for U.S. stocks.
Germany's DAX rose 0.6% to 25,137.90, while the CAC 40 in Paris edged
0.2% higher to 8,379.68. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.6% to 10,622.73.
The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up
0.5%.
Most markets in Asia stayed closed for Lunar New Year holidays.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 1% to 57,143.84 as Prime Minister Sanae
Takaichi was reappointed by the parliament following a landslide victory
for her ruling Liberal Democrats in a Feb. 8 election.
Technology companies led the advance, with computer chipmaker Tokyo
Electron gaining 2.9%.
Japan reported its exports jumped nearly 17% in January from a year
earlier. The jump was partly driven by seasonal factors, but the AI boom
also boosted shipments of computer chips and other components.
Shares in technology and energy giant SoftBank Group fell 2.8%,
extending a more than 5% loss on Tuesday, after the administration of
U.S. President Donald Trump announced that its subsidiary SB Energy will
participate in a $33 billion natural gas facility, said to be the
world's largest, near Portsmouth, Ohio.
That agreement is part of Japan's commitment of $550 billion in U.S.
investments as part of a trade deal that raised tariffs on Japanese
exports to the United States by 15%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.5% higher at 9,007.00, while
India's Sensex was flat. In Bangkok, the SET advanced 0.6%.
On Tuesday, U.S. stocks flipped between gains and losses.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% and the Dow added 0.1%. The Nasdaq composite
gained 0.1%.
Paramount Skydance helped lead the market, gaining 4.9% after Warner
Bros. Discovery said it would allow Paramount a chance to give its “best
and final” bid to buy the entertainment company. Paramount is trying to
top an offer from Netflix.
Warner Bros. Discovery rose 2.7%, and Netflix added 0.2%.
On the losing end of Wall Street was General Mills, which sank 7% after
the company behind Cheerios and Pillsbury warned that its customers are
feeling uneasy.
Several surveys have recently shown weakening confidence among U.S.
households as they struggle with inflation that remains higher than
anyone would like, a lackluster job market and worries about tariffs.
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A chart above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange
displays an intraday number for the SPY, tracking the S&P 500,
Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Drops for some Big Tech stocks were the heaviest weights on the
market Tuesday, including a 1.2% fall for Alphabet.
The moves were tentative, though, and Nvidia swung between being one
of the market’s heaviest weights and one of its biggest strengths.
Stocks of software and other companies have tumbled as investors
hunted for companies that could be potential losers if AI ends up
remaking the world and their industries.
The market has seen a sharp turnaround from last year, when the
promise of AI helped drive U.S. stock indexes to record after
record. Now, companies in industries as varied as software and legal
services and trucking have seen investors suddenly turn against them
when worries flare that AI-powered competitors could steal their
customers.
The companies spending big on AI are feeling their own pressure,
too.
“So we have a market that simultaneously believes AI will destroy
everything and, at times, deliver nothing. That tension is why
single stocks are being whipsawed like penny names even though we
are talking about trillion-dollar balance sheets,” Stephen Innes of
SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
A survey of global fund managers by Bank of America found a record
percentage is saying that companies are “overinvesting.” That could
mean an eventual pullback in spending on chips from Nvidia and other
companies.
In other dealings early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil added 14
cents to $62.47 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard,
picked up 15 cents to $67.57 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar bought 153.73 Japanese yen, up from 153.29 yen. The
euro slipped to $1.1836 from $1.1854.
The price of gold rose 0.6%, while the price of silver was up 3%.
Bitcoin's price was flat at about $68,200.
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