U.S. stocks fell in price on Friday, February 27, after the publication of the producer price index (PPI), which turned out to be much higher than expected. This increased investors' concerns about sustainable inflation. Also, the market fears the negative impact of AI on the economy and uncertainty in the negotiations between the US and Iran.

Nasdaq Composite has its worst month in a year: market sell-offs hit due to AI threat

Elon Musk's rocket and satellite company SpaceX plans to confidentially file for an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission as early as March, sources <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-27/spacex-is-said-to-weigh-confidential-ipo-filing-as-soon-as-march?embedded-checkout=true">told </a>Bloomberg, with some saying the company could expect a valuation of more than $1.75 trillion.

SpaceX plans to file for IPO in March, expecting a $1.75 trillion valuation - Bloomberg

Paramount Skydance Corporation

Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.

Paramount Skydance has signed a deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $110 billion, according to an audio recording of a meeting of WBD employees, which was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/warner-bros-signs-110-billion-deal-with-paramount-its-executive-discloses-2026-02-27/">reviewed by </a>Reuters. The deal comes after Netflix <a href="https://oninvest.com/article/netflix-otkazalsa-ot-bor-by-za-warner-bros-discovery-on-resil-ne-povysat-stavku">dropped its </a>claim to Warner Bros. assets the day before, on Feb. 26. The streaming giant did not raise the bid after months of struggle.

Paramount Skydance to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $110 billion - Reuters

Blue Owl Capital Inc.

Citigroup Inc.

Morgan Stanley

KKR & Co. Inc.

Ares Capital Corporation

American Express Company

Capital One Financial Corporation

Shares of U.S. banks and private asset managers fell on February 27 amid growing concerns about artificial intelligence and instability in the private lending sector. The sell-off affected both the largest Wall Street banks and securities of alternative investment funds.

Market exits credit risk: US bank stocks fall to lowest in nearly a year

AI could quickly put people out of work and society is unlikely to have time to adapt, says Howard Marks

'I lack optimism': Wall Street guru on AI's ability to take away jobs

European stocks have risen for eight consecutive months

EU stocks are experiencing their longest streak of gains since 2013. Is it too late to buy them?

Nebius Group N.V.

Arkady Volozh, CEO of cloud provider Nebius Group and founder of Yandex, has renounced his Russian citizenship, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-27/billionaire-yandex-founder-volozh-renounces-russian-citizenship">reports</a>, citing a source in the billionaire's entourage. The source said that Volozh received confirmation this week that he is no longer a Russian citizen.

Volozh, CEO of Nebius and founder of Yandex, renounced Russian citizenship

Switzerland's financial market regulator (FINMA) <a href="https://www.finma.ch/en/news/2026/02/20260227-mm-mbaer-liquidation/">said</a> on Feb. 27 that it had begun the process of liquidating MBaer Merchant Bank after Washington <a href="https://oninvest.com/article/ssa-namereny-otklucit-svejcarskij-bank-ot-finansovoj-sistemy-za-svazi-s-iranom-i-rf">threatened to</a> deny the Swiss private bank access to the U.S. financial system for violating sanctions against Iran, Russia and Venezuela.

Switzerland has closed a bank that the U.S. has accused of having ties to Iran and Russia

Data

Krispy Kreme, Inc.

Shares of doughnut maker Krispy Kreme <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/dnut/analystestimates?mod=mw_quote_tab">surged</a>&nbsp;27.8% after the company released its fourth-quarter and full-year financial results. The company said it expects further deleveraging and progress in executing its turnaround plan following the <a href="https://en.oninvest.com/article/krispy-kreme-and-mcdonald-s-will-end-their-doughnut-partnership-analysts-were-betting-on-it">end of its partnership with McDonald’s</a>.

Krispy Kreme shares shoot up almost 30% on 4Q/FY earnings

Bajaj Consumer Care Limited

MTAR Technologies Limited

MRV Engenharia e Participacoes S.A.

Last year showed that small caps in emerging markets can compete with large issuers, despite a <a href="https://en.oninvest.com/article/undervalued-small-caps-where-to-make-money-in-emerging-markets">lag</a>&nbsp;that persisted through the third quarter. For 2025, the return of the Equal Weight EM Small Cap Index, put together by analyst Aldiyar Anuarbekov for Oninvest, amounted to 18.25% in dollar terms*. For comparison: the broad-market S&amp;P 500 index grew 16.65%, while the smid-cap Russell 2000 rose 11.21% last year. The 8.06% increase in the Cap Weight EM Small Cap Index, meanwhile, indicates that the gains were more evenly distributed rather than concentrated in a small number of large stocks.

Where to find outstripping returns in EM small caps in 2026

Dutch Bros Inc.

Dutch Bros, a small U.S. coffee chain, is a growth stock that "could supercharge your returns over the next five years and beyond," <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/02/26/growth-stock-supercharge-invest-return-5-years/">argues</a>&nbsp;Motley Fool contributing analyst Neil Patel. The company’s stock is trading about 45% below its peak even as its fundamentals remain strong, he says, creating an attractive entry point for investors.

Motley Fool analyst likes growing U.S. coffee chain Dutch Bros on dip

VolitionRx Limited

Shares of VolitionRx, a micro-cap developer of blood tests for cancer and sepsis, <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/VNRX/">jumped</a>&nbsp;nearly 26% on Tuesday after the company <a href="https://ir.volition.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/874/volitionrx-highlights-commercial-momentum-and-multi-pillar-execution">reported</a>&nbsp;progress in several research programs and said a newly developed cancer-detection method has attracted interest from potential partners. The company also highlighted breakthrough research on detecting lymphoma in cats. Wall Street analysts <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/vnrx/analystestimates?mod=mw_quote_tab">say</a>&nbsp;the stock could have nearly 790% upside.

Cancer blood test maker VolitionRX soars 25% in a day on reported commercial progress

Whirlpool Corporation

Appaloosa, Tepper's hedge fund, significantly reduced its stake in Whirlpool late last year, yet it is still a top-10 position in its portfolio

David Tepper sends 'scathing' letter to Whirlpool, calls for changes

Small Caps

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