Rough profit-taking but not the end of the world – North American session Market wrap for February 26

Ben Graham · 2026-02-26T21:29:00Z

Log in to today's North American session Market wrap for February 26

Traders have caught a scary wave of profit-taking after yesterday's record-beating Nvidia earnings ($68.13! +70% y/y), which initially sparked a pump-and-dump price action in Equity Markets.

The headwind for the Market has been a persistent search for reasons to take some profits after historic gains, and, logically, so given the miraculous gains throughout 2025.

But even after today's bearish price action, dip-buyers have emerged at all indexes' respective 200-Hour Moving Averages, and the run-back higher has been strong. So to be clear, it's not the end of the world.

Today was just another bearish Thursday, a habit in 2026.

Seemingly, all dips are met with rebounds.

PS: Get ready for a wild month-end session tomorrow!

And this is even more evident when looking at the outcome of today's US-Iran talks in Geneva, which led to yet another round and better hopes for a nuclear deal – the next round of talks is expected on Monday in Vienna.

Still, despite some doomer warnings and some ever-positive counters, the tension in Markets has been real. Looking at headlines and movements all day, participants could only confirm that something feels off.

Being scared to trade during cloudy times is natural, and it could be a good defense against wide, account-blowing, unexpected moves.

Since COVID, there hasn't been a single week clear of doubts.

That's how Markets are designed.

Overall, the action is rangebound. Rallies are faded, dips are bought – Yes, until they aren't anymore, but that is why wise traders always make sure to have stops.

Volatility is expected to remain high for the time being, so the best thing to do is cut out the noise, take calculated risks, avoid products you don't feel or understand, and keep trying to find an edge in these wild markets.

Eventually, when a real move forms, the most prepared and trained traders will be the ones capitalizing, so keep your eyes open!

Stock Market Heatmap for the Session

Rough profit-taking but not the end of the world – North American session Market wrap for February 26 - ExpertFX School — Market Close Heatmap – Source: TradingView – February 26, 2026

The past few days of action were indeed a pump-fake, and things are seemingly back to the 2026 normal.

Defensives are greenish, albeit some hesitancy while Techs and Semiconductors took a huge hit. The HALO rotation looks poised to continue. The month end will be interesting!

Nvidia finished lower by 5.42% in a rough profit-taking session as record earnings still cast doubts on their ability to keep outperforming such high expectations (even if they have been doing so for a while now) – Overall, it seems to just be the result of a range top being reached.

Cross-Assets Daily Performance

Despite the huge rebound in sentiment after the better-than-expected US-Iran talks, the daily session took a risk-off tilt.

Bonds, Gold and Oil close higher after their rough past day sessions, while global stocks and Cryptos took a hit.

As warned in the introduction, tomorrow's weekly close will be very important, particularly as month-end comes with wild flows and trades ahead of the upcoming month. Spring is coming !!!

A picture of today's performance for major currencies

The Pound had been holding well in recent action despite its streak of downward-pointing data. Today, it eased and could remain such a trajectory as Bank of England are still battling for reasons to cut with still high inflation.

The Aussie and Kiwi dollars also eased from the risk-on flows, traditionally correlated with the Market.

The US Dollar remains at a rangebound intersection but is still the one currency to watch for the upcoming action! Keep it in check (and don't hesitate to a look at our in-depth analysis from this morning).

A look at Economic data releasing throughout this evening and tomorrow's sessions

The evening-to-tomorrow stretch is a busy one. JPY Traders await tonight's Tokyo Inflation data with angst as it will surely lock-in a potential rate hike at the next BoJ meeting (or fail to do so) – March 19.

Tomorrow will bring not only bring a high-tier German CPI (for Euro Traders), but also North American data, including US PPI (very key) and Canadian GDP figures, also closely monitored.

Keep a close eye on sentiment and Middle East news.

Safe Trades!

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