Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (3rd L) and Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis (2nd R) attend a bilateral meeting between Switzerland and Iran during a second round of US-Iranian talks with Washington pushing Tehran to make a deal to limit its nuclear programme, in Geneva on February 17, 2026.
Cyril Zingaro | Afp | Getty Images
Geopolitics will be the main theme of the day, with markets watching the high-stakes talks between the U.S. and Iran, as well as Ukraine and Russia, that are being held in Geneva.
The talks between Kyiv and Moscow represent the latest round of the U.S.-brokered negotiations between the countries as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nears its 4-year mark.
The talks kicked off on Tuesday and are expected to enter their second and final day on Wednesday, with no concrete agreements yet reported. Russia reportedly struck Ukraine’s power infrastructure on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Washington’s and Tehran’s negotiations appear to be yielding more progress so far.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the sides reached a general understanding on “guiding principles,” Reuters reported, though that does not mean a deal on the countries’ longstanding nuclear disputes is imminent.
Still, Araghchi’s comments eased fears of an immediate conflict in the region, with oil futures down on Wednesday.
U.S. stock futures were trading slightly up on Wednesday, led by the Nasdaq which gained 0.25%. That was after a tepid session for U.S. equities on Tuesday, which saw major averages post slim gains.
Investors remain jittery about the impact of artificial intelligence. The software sector, which has already been under pressure due to fears of disruption by AI tools, continued to fall on Tuesday, with leaders such as CrowdStrike and ServiceNow losing 3.6% and 1.1%, respectively.
In an interview with CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal, the CEO of leading European start-up Mistral AI, predicted that more than 50% of enterprises’ current software could be replaced by AI.
He made the comments on the sidelines of India’s AI Impact summit which will continue this week. Major announcements have come from the event so far, such as a pledge from Adani to invest $100 billion into data centers in the country by 2035.
Also coming Wednesday will be consumer price inflation numbers from the UK, a day after jobs data showed the UK’s unemployment rate rose to a 5-year high while wage growth slowed in the last three months of 2025.
Shares of German multinational life sciences company Bayer will be in focus after its Monsanto unit said it had reached an agreement worth as much as $7.25 billion to resolve thousands of current and future lawsuits regarding concerns that its Roundup weedkiller caused cancer.
What you need to know today
Anthropic rolled out Claude Sonnet 4.6. The new and improved AI model is the company’s second major product launch in less than two weeks.
China exports add to freight trade slump for the biggest U.S. port. New data from the Port of Los Angeles shows that commitments made by China to buy more U.S. agricultural products have yet to materialize.
Meta expands Nvidia deal to use millions of AI chips. The new sweeping deal will see Meta use the chips, including Nvidia’s new standalone CPUs and next-generation Vera Rubin systems, in its AI data centers.
Nvidia is partnering with Indian VC firms in AI start-up push. The company says it was working with several major venture capital firms, to identify and fund AI start-ups in India’s growing AI market.
Iran partially closed the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. State media reported the news citing “security precautions” as Tehran’s Revolutionary Guard conducts military drills in the waterway.
Japan export growth surges to over 3-year high. Exports climbed 16.8% year on year in January, sharply beating market expectations and growing at their fastest rate since November 2022.
[Pro] Appaloosa Management’s David Tepper bullish on Micron, Korean stocks. The billionaire hedge fund manager added to his Micron stake and took a position in Korean stocks, both of which are AI plays.
And finally…
Businesses scramble to reach China’s growing experiences economy
There’s nothing quite like the holiday rush in China for the Lunar New Year.
The Beijing city streets start emptying out several days in advance as the majority of residents return to their hometowns or travel elsewhere. A quiet calm replaces the normally tense atmosphere of people rushing to work or school.
So where are the locals going? Immersive experiences rank high.
— Evelyn Cheng
