Author: Timothy St. John

Timothy St John is a seasoned financial analyst and writer, catering to the dynamic landscapes of the US and European markets. Boasting over a decade of extensive freelance writing experience, he has made significant contributions to reputable platforms such as Yahoo!Finance, business.com: Expert Business Advice, Tips, and Resources - Business.com, and numerous others. Timothy's expertise lies in in-depth research and comprehensive coverage of stock and cryptocurrency movements, coupled with a keen understanding of the economic factors influencing currency dynamics. Timothy majored in English at East Tennessee State University, and you can find him on LinkedIn.

Stocks Tick up ahead of Federal Reserve Meeting

Posted on February 18, 2026 by Timothy St. John

Stock market indices rose on Tuesday by the time trading closed off, and they jumped on Wednesday morning as the market opened and prepared for the latest FOMC meeting.

Palantir is one of the leading stocks for Wednesday as AI stocks look promising.

The Federal Reserve will be holding its January meeting on Wednesday, and the market is bullish ahead of that meeting. The Nasdaq climbed 1.16% while the Dow gained 0.55%. The S&P 500 increased by 0.77% as well, rounding out the top three stock indices for the U.S. market.

Stock futures remained positive at the time of writing and are pointing toward positive consumer sentiment over the FOMC meeting and the state of the economy. Recent inflation data was promising and came in better than expected for the jobs market and the consumer price index.

Tech Companies Catch a Break

After days of bearish movement for many technology stocks, there is positive movement on the stock indices for a number of them. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) is out in front with a 5.13% increase after a strong Q4 earnings report. Microsoft (MSFT) has caught a break after several rough weeks, with a 0.72% increase for Wednesday.

Nvidia (NVDA) is another strong performer today, with 2.42% in gains after signing a deal with Meta Platforms to provide them with millions of AI chips. The company is enjoying excellent stock movement just a week out from its quarterly earnings report that will be key to determining where investor sentiment lies with AI companies.

Technology companies are still under severe scrutiny as they need to prove to shareholders that they can be profitable despite major investments into AI technology. Nvidia’s earnings next week will likely be crucial, but the easing off that is taking place this week is promising for the tech sector. Apple (AAPL) gained 0.66% on Wednesday, and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) fell 1.41%, indicating that the entire AI sector is not bullish just yet.

Later this week, the Personal Consumption Expenditures index will release, indicating where inflation might be headed. That could work together with the FOMC meeting outcome to give the market a lot of momentum heading into next week.

BTC Price Prediction during Sideways Trading

Posted on February 18, 2026 by Timothy St. John

The Bitcoin (BTC) price is down 0.76% for the day and continues to trade between $65.7K and $71.7K, creating a sideways pattern that may be tough to break out of.

Bitcoin is in a holding pattern that is killing all momentum.

With the Bitcoin rate down to $67,504 (BTC/USD), the coin is on the lower end of its current trading range. The price forecast calls for the coin to remain locked in the same pattern as investors ignore recent inflation data.

[[BTC/USD]]

Whale investors appear to be making careful movements as fears persist that the coin will drop further and perhaps even hit a bottom of around $50,000. Mild ETF outflows point to reserved trading maneuvers and a trepidatious market at this time.

Bitcoin Predictions Place the Coin in a Holding Pattern

Bitcoin might need a strong impetus to knock it out of its current trend. Since February 7th, the coin has held between a bearish range and does not appear to be rallying for a breakout anytime soon. That may be disheartening to investors, but at least the coin is not dropping sharply either. Over the last week, the BTC price has actually climbed 0.36%.

That is very mild movement for the week and will likely change quickly, flipping between gains and losses as the price shifts over the next few days. The good news for investors is that the price is at least stabilizing for now and is not heading much lower. That often means that a crypto coin is consolidating and maintaining a careful balance between buyers and sellers. But we have seen no bullish indicators, and it is most likely that Bitcoin will remain within its current trading range, barring some strong influencing factor.

That is the short-term outlook, and of course, there are many analysts and market insiders who predict that the BTC price will jump in the coming months. Chief among them is Michael Saylor, one of the co-founders of Strategy. On Tuesday, Strategy purchased 2,486 bitcoins, which could prove to be a smart move as his company buys the dip.

Outflows for spot Bitcoin ETFs were around $104 million. That is considered mild movement for that asset, and it is yet another indicator that the coin is not preparing for an upward surge.

A Finder poll of cryptocurrency analysts called for a year-end price of $133K for Bitcoin, and yet, analysts warn about investing in BTC or other crypto assets at the moment. They recognize that the market is mostly bearish and may continue to stay that way for a while longer.

5.5% Drop for U.S. Natural Gas Futures on Weather Forecasts

Posted on February 17, 2026 by Timothy St. John

On Tuesday, natural gas futures fell 5.56% to hit $3.02/MMBtu and erased gains from late 2025 as cold winter weather draws to a close and warm temperatures are expected.

Natural gas futures are falling this week due to weather forecasts and supply worries.

With many of the fall 2025 gains wiped out, natural gas futures for the United States are lower than they have been in months. The warm weather forecasts are the obvious culprit, and the market is expecting warmer weather to push prices even lower as demand diminishes.

The issue of supply and demand is likely to become an important one for the market in the coming months as demand falls while fresh injections are made into reserves that are close to normal levels for this time of year.

Prices Dip under Moving Averages

The price of natural gas is in a confirmed downtrend, and the current price of $3.02 is well below the 50-day moving average of $3.61 as well as the 200-day moving average of $3.70. The current support level is low, and investors fear a drop below $3 and what that will mean for the price of gas moving forward.

Investor sentiment has plummeted since the January highs near $7.50 per one million British Thermal Units, and continuous warm weather forecasts are keeping the gas futures from making back lost ground. Now, weakened demand and leveling supplies are plunging the market further into losses.

Aggressive buying trends fell quickly in late January and early February across the United States, but cold weather is still keeping demand high with several U.S. trade partners. The export side of the U.S. gas futures markets remains strong, helping to keep the price from dropping below $3 for now.

Rising production of natural gas, however, will offset gains from exports. In a number of areas across the United States and around the world, natural gas production is ramping up, and analysts expect the market to see an oversupply problem this year similar to what occurred in 2025.

Stocks Struggle Tuesday with Nasdaq Dropping 0.8%

Posted on February 17, 2026 by Timothy St. John

As inflation data poured in last week, the stock market responded with muted, slightly bearish movement, and tech stocks were hit the hardest.

AI concerns are keeping the stock market low this week.

The Nasdaq dipped 0.8% on Tuesday while the Dow fell 0.2% and the S&P 500 decreased by 0.4% as the shortened trading week began. The market was closed on Monday for President’s Day, and tech stocks found particular trouble in making gains as trading began and inflation data was processed.

The week started off poorly, and it looks like Wall Street is in for another bearish turn for the third week of February trading. Notable tech stocks that fell this week are Palantir Technologies (PLTR), which fell more than 2%, as well as Nvidia (NVDA) and Meta Platforms (META)- both down close to 1%. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is also down 2% for Tuesday

Consecutive Weeks of Losses for Stock Indices

Despite a strong start in January, the stock market has lagged in February, and the Nasdaq has now fallen five weeks in a row. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones fared slightly better, with four weeks of losses out of the last five. Many of the biggest losers during this bearish cycle have been technology stocks, particularly those associated with the AI industry.

As many notable tech companies posted their quarterly earnings over the last few weeks, their revenue was, for the most part, much higher than the previous quarter. However, investors and analysts focused on capital expenditures (capex), which have been higher in recent years as companies invest into AI architecture.

Fears over AI disruption and how the rapidly growing sector will affect jobs has pervaded the stock market. Industries as varied as trucking, financial services, real estate, and software were all impacted by AI concerns, and the Dow and S&P 500 both fell more than 1% over the previous week.

Of course, AI concerns hit tech stocks the hardest and the tech-focused Nasdaq dropped by more than 2% last week. The Consumer Price Index with its rosy reading was not enough to sink those fears, and the latest jobs data that showed unemployment was lower than expected did not do much to help dwindling tech stock numbers.

This Friday, the Personal Consumption Expenditure report will be released, helping to indicate where inflation is headed, but we expect that AI sector fears will persist. Investors should anticipate poor showing from many of the leading tech stocks as capital expenditures remain high for a fiercely competitive AI market.

Natural Gas Prices Hit Lowest Since Last October

Posted on February 16, 2026 by Timothy St. John

The price of natural gas futures in the United States slipped to $3.02/MMBtu, which marks the lowest point for this commodity since October of last year.

Gas futures are trending lower as warm weather forecasts are reported.

Warming temperatures led to a four-month low for natural gas as heating demand dropped sharply from where it was several weeks ago during the massive cold front. The United States was plunged into extremely cold and icy winter weather in late January and early February, but now the weather has warmed considerably and caused a massive price drop off.

The gains that were made during the last session have completely disappeared and warm weather forecasts continue to keep the price of natural gas low. Those warmer temperatures are expected to start in the southern parts of the United States and spread to the central and northern parts quickly.

U.S. Gas Prices Expected to Remain Low

Prices may shift quickly on Tuesday as markets open back up after the holiday, but the forecasts for mild temperatures will not allow natural gas to move much higher. The weather reports are not the only factor holding back price movement. The latest withdrawal report from the EIA shows that little progress is being made on reducing around-average supply levels.

Those reserve levels are dropping, though, and are no longer near their extreme highs from 2025. That could help bring prices back up if demand picks up. Export levels are still high as well as colder weather dominates in other parts of the world outside the United States.

Last month, gas prices were as high as $7, hitting multi-year highs. Since they have settled down as warm weather creeped in, the market has had a tough time adjusting. Sharp drop-offs have been the norm for the last couple weeks, and investors are baffled by historic decreases. The incredibly high gas prices came at a time when gas reserves were extremely elevated, indicating that there is hope that the market could see another surge like that later this year.

For now, warm weather is expected to remain active across much of the United States and to simply get warmer as February continues. The market may see higher gas demand in the coming months, though, as European Union gas storage levels are around 34%. That could lead to an export surge for the U.S. gas industry.

Consumer Price Index Report Is Good News for the Economy

Posted on February 16, 2026 by Timothy St. John

On Friday, the Consumer Price Index report showed that prices increased in the United States just 0.2% for January, with prices ticking up 2.4% from the same time last year.

The price of goods is mostly holding steady according to the January CPI report.

Consumer prices slowed down in January, falling from December’s 2.7% year-on-year increase to 2.4%. That means that inflation has not really moved recently, as well. Even though inflation is not down to the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%, the level fluctuated between 2.5% and 3% for much of last year.

The latest inflation reading helped the stock market slow down from its deep decline on Thursday so that it was able to stabilize on Friday. The market is closed for Monday for the President’s Day holiday, but it will open again on Tuesday, and analysts expect rapid movement in response to the CPI report.

CPI Indicates a Healthy Market

The price index is just one of several economic indicators that have released recently. The jobs report for January came in better than expected as well, showing that unemployment was low and more than 100,000 jobs have been created. These important pieces of data point toward a robust economy where job opportunities are plentiful, prices are stable, and inflation is holding.

The Federal Reserve is likely to consider these data points carefully and factor them into their next monetary policy meeting. They might not make an interest rate cut right away, but they are far more likely to issue one in the next few months because of the promising economic outlook.

Over the past few years, the interest rates have been decreasing steadily. Consumer prices have also been coming down, with a record high of 9.1% back in June 2022. That makes the current rate look very promising, and as analysts and investors digest these numbers, we anticipate a strong stock market opening on Tuesday and the continuation of the bullish market that we saw in early January.

Prices are highest in the food sector, particularly in restaurants. There, prices have gone up by 4%, partly due to increasing import rates, higher gas prices, and a higher cost of living- all of which contribute to restaurant prices. Some of those contributing price factors may decrease soon, especially fuel since the opening of the Venezuelan oil market is expected to dramatically lower energy prices in the Western Hemisphere.

The takeaway from the Consumer Price Index is that inflation is stable, even if specific sectors are higher than normal. Couple that with the latest jobs report, and the outlook for the economy is a good one.

Will the Stock Market Open for President’s Day?

Posted on February 16, 2026 by Timothy St. John

The third Monday in February is President’s Day, and the stock market is typically closed for that day, along with banks and schools, so investors will be mulling Friday’s market movement.

Trading on the stock market closed off on Friday to reopen on Tuesday.

On Friday, the stock market closed nearly flat from the previous day, with the Nasdaq down 0.22%, the Dow up 0.1%, and the S&P gaining 0.05%. These small movements hide a wider trend of AI stocks dipping after a mixed few weeks of earnings reports.

Because of President’s Day, the stock market will remain closed until Tuesday morning. This holiday marks the birthday of George Washington, the first U.S. president. Because of the downtime, the market could open strong the following day as the latest inflation readings are processed.

Tech Stocks Struggle as Prices Rise

Thursday was rough for the stock market with sharp losses for a number of companies, and Friday served as a recovery day. Stocks stabilized slightly in the wake of the Consumer Price Index report. That data showed that inflation was hovering around 2.4% and prices rose less than anticipated- 0.2% for January.

The good news allowed stock market indices to perform slightly better on Friday, but the ongoing selloff of tech stocks (particularly AI-related stocks) is continuing. The selloff has been triggered by fears that the massive amount of money pumped into the AI field is outweighing the profitability of the sector. These fears have dragged down key AI shares, including Microsoft, AMD, Nvidia, and others in recent weeks.

Nvidia (NVDA) continued its bearish trend last week with a 2.20% decline on Friday. This movement is indicative of leading tech stocks performing much worse than the average of the index they are listed on. The Nasdaq fell 0.22% the same day.

Microsoft (MSFT) stabilized slightly on Friday after a rough week, having lost 5% between Tuesday and Thursday. The company posted strong earnings during its most recent quarterly report, but the market sentiment against extravagant AI investments hurt Microsoft’s stock performance and has kept the share price on a bearish trend during the earnings season. We anticipate further financial headwinds as AI worries persist among investors, shareholders, and analysts alike.

On Friday, Coinbase (COIN) stock jumped 17% after the crypto exchange reported its quarterly earnings. That increase was unexpected since the company reported a sharp decline in revenue for the quarter. Applied Materials (AMAT) also saw a share price jump, gaining 8% after beating earnings estimates. Corporate earnings should continue to drive market movement for now, especially with better than expected inflation and consumer price index numbers releasing recently.

Natural Gas Held Back by Storage Reports

Posted on February 13, 2026 by Timothy St. John

Bearish storage data kept United States natural gas futures from gaining ground on Friday as the latest report came in under expectations.

The U.S. LNG export market is strong at the moment.

Natural gas is already a bearish market, but the most recent storage report showing 249 billion cubic feet of gas withdrawn from storage is only making things worse. Gas futures ticked up 0.08% on Friday to $3.23 per MMBtu, back to October 2025 prices.

The sluggish market can be blamed on warm weather forecasts that have cut the winter season short for much of the United States. Natural gas futures are expected to remain low so long as weather forecasts call for relatively mild temperatures.

LNG Export Demand Could Shift Market Upward

There is one factor that could push back against mild weather and low withdrawals, and that is the exceptional export demand that U.S gas traders are experiencing. LNG export demand is high right now as trade partners around the world need heating for their cold winter weather. As long as that demand remains high, the gas futures will not dip much lower.

Warm weather is expected to continue all the way through the end of February with forecasts pointing to unusually mild temperatures for this time of year. However, withdrawals are higher this year than they were the previous year, coming in at 249 billion cubic feet compared to 111 from the same time last year. The withdrawal numbers are also much higher than the five year average 146 bcf.

That is promising for the market that has struggled with high reserve levels for a while. All throughout 2025, the natural gas supply was unusually high, and injections continued to occur to an already elevated supply level. For now, the reserve levels are going back down and are correcting, but that could change later on this year. Several production facilities are expected to open in the region, and several facilities are expected to increase their production output this year as well.

The Energy Information Administration expects natural gas production to reach all-time highs in 2026. The production levels could move as high as 120.8 billion cubic feet per day, which would mean an increase of about 2%. Much of the growth should come from the Appalachian region, but production in Texas is expected to ramp up as well this year. If production levels really do increase, then overall market prices will likely fall in response.

Bitcoin Price Prediction as Bears Hold on at $67K

Posted on February 13, 2026 by Timothy St. John

The Bitcoin rate fell 1.36% over the last 24 hours and is down to $67,210 (BTC/USD) as the bears continue to keep their stranglehold on the coin.

Bitcoin falls further as bears remain in control.

Heavy ETF spot withdrawals worked to keep the Bitcoin (BTC) price low this week, with $375.11 million by Thursday. This marks four weeks in a row of withdrawals over inflows, cementing the notion that the bears are in charge of Bitcoin’s trajectory for now.

[[BTC/USD]]

Trade volume for Bitcoin is down more than 4% for Friday and is part of a wider trend that tells analysts the token is not at the bottom yet. That bottom could be around $50 or 60K, some experts warn.

Bitcoin Demand Weakens

Losses continue this week from a starting point of $71K to a holding pattern near $67K. On Thursday there was a brief dip to $65K, indicating that the market is willing to test a price point lower than the current one. No support level or resistance level has been established recently for Bitcoin as it continues to decline from one psychologically important level to another.

The 30-day movement for the coin is even more disheartening for investors. A month ago, Bitcoin was valued at $96K, and it has since lost 30% of its worth. Investors are selling off their Bitcoin, and the wider market is panicking. The losses extended to Ethereum (ETH) and many other crypto tokens as well, as all the crypto market is being pulled under by Bitcoin’s downward spiral.

Bitcoin is still searching for the bottom and when it finds that bottom, it may start to build support and then climb back to key psychological levels. The market may be nearing that bottom, but it does not appear that the coin is done with its decline. The jump from $65K to $67K between Thursday and Friday does not tell us that the coin is bouncing back. That could simply be a short-term correction before further decline.

The whales are trying to help Bitcoin regain some of its lost ground, with Strategy (MSTR) buying up 1,142 bitcoins. That firm has been buying the dip on Bitcoin for years, and Strategy co-founder Michael Saylor is bullish on the coin still. However, Bitcoin has not seen any boost from an excellent jobs report that was stronger than anticipated.

Even a bullish stock market with record highs for several indices and leading stocks has not been enough to sway investors to give Bitcoin and the crypto market a chance lately. Strong bullish momentum should continue to push Bitcoin lower, but investors may be ready for the coin to consolidate soon and start to climb back up in the next few weeks.

Nasdaq down 2% as AI Worry Creates Market Selloff

Posted on February 13, 2026 by Timothy St. John

Labor reports were positive this week, but continued fears over AI futures has investors worried, and a sharp decrease in tech stocks caused the Nasdaq to lose 2% of its value Thursday.

The Nasdaq Composite is in decline as tech stocks sell off this week.

The Nasdaq Composite dipped on Thursday at the end of trading, but the Dow and S&P 500 also lost ground, falling 1.34% and 1.57%, respectively. A wide market selloff occurred before trading closed off for the day, and we anticipate that the bearish trend will continue through Friday.

Leading technology stocks that make up the Magnificent Seven all decreased on Thursday and then again Friday morning. Investors appear to be alarmed over the AI disruption, or artificial intelligence taking jobs from the market and disturbing the status quo. This has led to a drastic decrease in tech stock values this week.

New Inflation Report and Persistent AI Fears

The consumer price index report for January is releasing Friday, and the report is expected to show an increase of 0.3%. If that holds true, then the inflation gauge may increase by 2.5% from the previous year. These estimates come from Wall Street polls that took into consideration the opinions of economists, and investors are starting to pull back in fear of rising inflation.

The selloff has begun with tech stocks, particularly those related to the AI industry. These stocks are under attack as investors narrow down the number of AI companies they are confident in. We have seen steep drops in stock prices over the last few weeks for Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and other leading AI-related companies. Even when they impress with earnings, their profitability is not what shareholders expect from them.

It is evident that more than just profits are important to stockholders, though, when it comes to declining stock prices for tech companies. There is a growing fear that AI will disrupt the workforce and lead to a shift in how business is conducted. Several tech companies are bucking the bearish stock trend, like Applied Materials (AMAT) with an 11% price jump. The company demonstrated strong earnings and had an excellent outlook to offer.

Cisco Systems (CSCO) dropped 12% this week as they shared their guidance for the year. Massive capital expenditure plans tanked their stock price and worried investors.

From the Magnificent Seven Stocks, Apple is down 5% with one of its worst days in months. Tesla (TSLA) is down 2.62%, and Microsoft has dipped 0.63%. We are seeing market-wide tech stock losses that indicate a trend that may persist. The overall stock market is still holding close to record highs, but the AI bubble may be in trouble and is certainly under fire this week as tech earnings season draws to a close.