Bad news hits! U.S. stocks fall across the board! Asset management companies come under collective pressure

【Introduction】U.S. Stocks Face Multiple Downside Risks

Last night, the U.S. stock market was weighed down by concerns over artificial intelligence, private credit news, and Middle East tensions.

Multiple Factors Pressure U.S. Stocks

On Thursday, February 19th Eastern Time, U.S. stocks opened lower and closed lower, with all three major indices declining.

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.54% to 49,395.16 points; the S&P 500 declined 0.28% to 6,861.89 points; the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.31% to 22,682.73 points.

As of press time, according to CCTV News, U.S. sources report that President Trump is weighing a limited initial military strike on Iran to pressure it into accepting U.S.-proposed nuclear agreement terms. Insiders say that if authorized, the operation could be launched within days, targeting a few military or government facilities to exert pressure on Tehran rather than initiating full-scale war. The plan is viewed as the first step in a phased approach.

On macroeconomic news, Federal Reserve Board member Stephen M. Milan has lowered his expectations for rate cuts this year. In an interview, Milan stated that recent data shows employment is better than he expected, while commodity inflation remains stubborn. Therefore, Milan no longer believes the Fed should cut rates significantly this year as he predicted two months ago.

Recently, Arthur Mensch, CEO of French AI startup Mistral, said that more than 50% of the software used by companies today could be replaced by AI.

Tech Giants Mixed in Gains and Losses

Facebook, Tesla, and Amazon saw modest gains, while Nvidia, Microsoft, and Google declined slightly. Apple fell 1.43%.

In company news, Amazon surpassed Walmart to become the world’s highest-revenue company for the year. As of January 31, 2026, Walmart reported 12-month sales of $713.2 billion; by December 31, 2025, Amazon reported sales of $717 billion.

Asset Management Firms Under Pressure

Asset management firm Blue Owl Capital announced it has reached a final agreement with four North American public pension and insurance investors to opportunistically sell $1.4 billion of direct loan investments at 99.7% of face value by February 12, 2026.

Asset management firms are collectively under pressure. Blue Owl Capital dropped nearly 6%, while Dutch global insurer, Blackstone Group, and Apollo Global Management fell 5.83%, 5.38%, and 5.21%, respectively.

Energy Stocks and International Oil Prices Rise

Gold Prices Fluctuate

Affected by Middle East tensions and other factors, international oil prices have recently risen. NYMEX WTI crude futures closed above $66 per barrel. The energy sector gained, with Western Petroleum and International Marine Engineering rising over 9%.

International gold prices have been volatile recently. The latest trading shows COMEX gold futures moving sideways, supported by geopolitical tensions, currently trading above $5,000 per ounce.

(Source: China Fund News)