Market Slump: Tariffs and AI Displacement Fears Rattle Wall Street

U.S. equity markets faced significant selling pressure during afternoon trading on Monday, February 23rd, 2026, as a combination of geopolitical trade uncertainty and renewed anxieties over the long-term impact of artificial intelligence (AI) weighed heavily on investor sentiment. The session was dominated by a sharp pivot toward risk-off behavior following a weekend of escalating trade rhetoric from the White House, effectively erasing the optimism seen late last week.Major Indexes Retreat in Afternoon Tra ...