Weekly Market Bullets

for the week ending 2/13/2026

• US Equity Markets declined last week amid growing fears about AI disrupting an increasing number of firms and industries, leading investors to rotate to other areas of the market. The S&P 500 dropped 1.4% for the week, erasing its gains for the year, now down 0.1% for the year. However, the S&P 500 Equal Weight index rose 1.0% last week and is now up 5.9% for the year as investors shift away from mega-cap technology stocks. The Nasdaq tumbled another 2.1% for the week to bring its losses for the year to down 3.0%, while the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) fell 0.9% for the week and now up 6.6% for the year.

• Global Equity Markets rose last week, boosted by election results in Japan that rallied Asian markets. Developed Markets were up 1.9% for the week and are now up 7.3% for the year. Emerging Markets rallied 3.2% for the week to bring their gains for the year to 10.3%.

• US Interest Rates fell last week amid tamer inflation data despite a positive jobs report. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January was up 2.4% from a year ago, better than expected and down from 2.7% in December. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, was up 2.5%, down from 2.6% in December. Payroll gains for January totaled 130K, much better than expected and up from 64K gains in December, with the Unemployment Rate falling to 4.3% from 4.4% in December. As a result, the yield on the US 10-Year Treasury closed the week at 4.05% vs. 4.20% the prior week.

• Early Tax Data Show a Surge in Tax Refunds so far. The first week of tax filing season has seen a 22% increase in tax refunds compared to last year. Total refunds came in at $8.02 billion in the first week vs. $6.54 billion a year ago. Forecasts continue to suggest a significant increase in tax refunds this year, estimated to be ~$150 billion more than last year, which should be stimulative to the US economy.

Market Data

for the week ending 2/13/2026