Wednesday, February 18, 2026…4:10 PM ET
[4:00 PM ET closing prices for stocks; 3:50ish for commodities and bonds.]
—Oil, gold and silver had a strong day after Vice President JD Vance said Iran had failed to acknowledge core U.S. demands in talks in Geneva Tuesday, after which Washington said it had agreed to give Tehran two weeks to close the gaps between the sides.
Ahead of the negotiations, Tehran has indicated it was willing to compromise around the edges of its nuclear program, including moving its near weapons-grade uranium offshore, people familiar with the matter said.
But speaking Tuesday evening, Vance said it was clear from his briefing from the talks that they hadn’t yielded any breakthrough, adding that military action remained an option. The U.S. has demanded Iran end its enrichment of uranium, a central aspect of its nuclear work, which the White House fears gives Iran the capacity to build a nuclear weapon.
“One thing I will say about the negotiation this morning: In some ways, it went well – they agreed to meet afterwards. But in other ways, it was very clear that the president has set some red lines that the Iranians are not yet willing to actually acknowledge and work through,” Vance told Fox News, without providing further detail.
President Trump has assembled a massive force just off Iran’s coast.
“I don’t think they want the consequences of not making a deal,” Trump told reporters late Monday, saying he would remain indirectly involved in Tuesday’s talks, which ended after 3 ½ hours of discussion. “They want to make a deal.”
—Peace talks between Ukraine and Russia in Geneva on Wednesday ended after only two hours, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky describing them as “difficult” and accusing Russia of deliberately delaying progress toward a deal to end the four-year-old war.
The two days of U.S.-mediated peace talks took place as President Trump has twice in recent days suggested it was up to Ukraine and Zelensky to ensure the talks were successful, which is outrageous.
“We can see that progress has been made, but for now, positions differ because the negotiations were difficult,” Zelensky told reporters in a WhatsApp chat shortly after talks concluded.
In an interview with Axios published on Tuesday, Zelensky was quoted as saying that it was “not fair” Trump kept publicly calling on Ukraine, not Russia, to make concessions in negotiating terms for a peace Plan.
Trump had told reporters on Monday aboard Air Force One that “Ukraine better come to the table fast. That’s all I’m telling you.”
—U.S. Treasury yields rose a bit today, following release of the ‘minutes’ from the last Federal Reserve Open Market Committee’s meeting, Jan. 27-28, wherein some Fed officials signaled renewed worries over inflation, with “several” policymakers suggesting the central bank may need to raise interest rates if inflation stays above their goal.
Stocks rallied on a better day for tech.
–Finally, congratulations to Mikaela Shiffrin. With the weight of the world on her, following a poor start to her Milan Cortina Olympic Games, after a disastrous performance in Beijing in 2022, Shiffrin, in the event that has defined her historic career, cemented her legacy in full by taking the women’s slalom this morning, in a dominating performance, winning by a massive margin of 1.5 seconds.
It is her third gold medal – after a slalom gold in the 2014 Sochi Games as well as gold in giant slalom four years later in South Korea (where she added a silver in Alpine combined).
After the disappointments for Team USA with Lindsey Vonn and Ilia Malinin, the pressure was on Shiffrin, and she rose mightily to the challenge. You rock, Mikaela!!!
Dow Jones +129…0.3% [49663]
S&P 500 +38…0.6% [6881]
Nasdaq +175…0.8% [22753]
Oil (WTI) $65.40…up $3
Gold $5004…up $100
Silver $77.25…up $3.80
Bitcoin $66,270…another ugly day for whatever this is… [4:00 PM ET]
U.S. 2-yr. 3.46%
U.S. 10-yr. 4.08%
Japanese 10-yr. 2.13%
Back tomorrow, Thurs.
Brian Trumbore
