How major US stock indexes fared Tuesday, 2/17/2026

A quiet finish for U.S. stocks masked big swings underneath the surface.

The S&P 500 rose 0.1% Tuesday after swinging between a gain of 0.5% and a loss of nearly 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite also gained 0.1% each.

Paramount Skydance helped lead the market after Warner Bros. Discovery allowed it to make its best and final offer to buy the entertainment company.

General Mills dropped after warning its customers are feeling less confident.

Nvidia swung between being one of the heaviest weights on the market and one of its biggest strengths.

On Tuesday:

The S&P 500 rose 7.05 points, or 0.1%, to 6,843.22.

The Nasdaq composite rose 31.71 points, or 0.1%, to 22,578.38.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.11 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2,646.59.

For the year:

The S&P 500 is down 2.28 points, or less than 0.1%.

The Dow is up 1,469.90 points, or 3.1%.