Jobs, Tech Earnings and Iran to Set the Week’s Tone
March 2, 2026
Market sentiment continues to be driven by the opposing forces of artificial intelligence (AI) disruption fears and the promise of AI-driven productivity gains. This dynamic came into sharp focus last Thursday when Nvidia reported its latest results, which included record revenue, strong guidance and accelerating enterprise adoption. Despite its strong operating performance and outlook, Nvidia’s shares fell roughly 5% on the day,1 as investor concerns about the durability of AI demand and lofty expectations weighed on the stock.
Last week’s economic calendar was relatively light, highlighted by the Producer Price Index (PPI) release. January’s PPI surprised to the upside, reinforcing concerns that disinflation progress may be uneven. Headline PPI rose 0.5% month over month, above the roughly 0.3% consensus, lifting the year-over-year rate to 2.9%.2 Meanwhile, core PPI (excluding food and energy) increased 0.3% on the month.3 The report’s strength was concentrated in services, where prices for final demand services jumped 0.8%, even as goods prices declined 0.3% on the back of lower gasoline and food costs.4 For policymakers and markets, the stronger-than-expected data complicates the case for near-term rate cuts.
This week’s economic calendar is headlined by February’s labor market report, with Friday’s nonfarm payrolls expected to show a gain of 54,000 jobs—well below January’s strong 130,000 increase—keeping labor market and inflation dynamics squarely in focus for the Federal Reserve and rate expectations.5 Ahead of payrolls, markets will parse Monday’s February Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Index and midweek releases including ADP employment, ISM Services and initial jobless claims for signals on growth momentum, hiring and pricing power.6
More tech-focused earnings will also be in the spotlight this week, with semiconductor company Broadcom and cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike set to report.7 These results will be particularly noteworthy given the market’s muted reception to Nvidia’s strong earnings last week.
Finally, we will be keeping an eye on the impacts of the Iranian strikes and how they could impact the global oil market and economy.
Sources:
1CNBC – Nvidia’s blowout earnings report disappoints Wall Street as stock sinks 5%; 2/26/26
2-4U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics – Producer Price Index News Release summary; 2/27/26
5,6MarketWatch – Economic Calendar; as of 3/2/2026
7Kiplinger – Earnings Calendar and Analysis for This Week (March 2-6)
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