Stocks Slip Slightly After Volatile Session as Oil Prices Ease

The stock market closed slightly lower on Thursday after a volatile trading session, as oil prices declined amid hopes that tensions in the Middle East may be easing.

Overall, S&P 500 and NASDAQ fell 0.3% to 6,606 and 22,091, respectively.

Tweet of the Day

 

Chart of the Day

Here is the one-year chart of Arista Networks (ANET) as of February 23, 2026, when the stock was at $127.

Arista Networks, an industry leader in data-driven, client-to-cloud networking continues to see strong AI momentum as demand for AI infrastructure accelerated across cloud and enterprise-sized customers.

Management stated demand for AI networking equipment increased quickly, especially for faster 800-gig systems — which gained more than 100 customers in 2025 — and large-scaled AI data centers. This growth is part of Arista 2.0, the company’s strategy to expand beyond traditional data centers into AI centers, campus networks, routing, and subscription software, all connected through its EOS software and CloudVision platform.

Management said Arista 2.0 momentum is clear, placing the company at the center of mission-critical AI networking, and becoming the preferred network innovator of choice. Strong demand for Arista Networks’ AI networking solutions has fueled rapid growth in its backend AI business, scaling from zero revenue in 2022 to hundreds of millions in 2025, and now the company expects AI networking revenue to grow $3.25 billion in 2026.

ANET is part of the Growth Stock Portfolio and Focus List. It is a core tech holding for us.

Not a member? Sign up here for $25 a month.