Oil prices jumped 3% on Wednesday amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran and the abrupt end of Russian-Ukrainian talks in Geneva just two hours after they began, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-prices-lose-ground-hopes-de-escalation-us-iran-tensions-2026-02-18/">reported</a>. Iran has temporarily blocked part of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil supply route - according to the official version, because of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps exercises. On Thursday, February 19, Iran and Russia <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/18/oil-prices-fall-slightly-on-hopes-of-de-escalation-from-us-iran-talks-.html">will conduct</a> joint exercises in the Sea of Oman and the northern part of the Indian Ocean. While the market is pricing in the risk of a closure of the Strait of Hormuz and a new wave of escalation, India - one of the biggest buyers of Russian oil - is cutting its imports to their lowest levels since 2022 and turning back to Middle Eastern suppliers, Reuters sources <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russian-share-indias-january-oil-142727785.html">said</a>. Against the backdrop of these shifts, an uncomfortable question arises: how marketable the Urals price and its discount to Brent remains, if the largest buyer of this oil is linked to its seller. Oil industry expert Sergey Vakulenko <a href="https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=25875782032030536&amp;id=100000762787435&amp;mibextid=wwXIfr&amp;rdid=gYshXuyY1DeOOMIo#">wrote a</a> great breakdown on his Facebook page, we publish it in full here

Who sets the Urals price in India - and what does Rosneft have to do with it?

Apple Inc.

The market is taking the launch timing of the updated Siri as an indicator of Apple's ability to realize its AI strategy

"Soap opera" wraps up: why Wedbush thinks Apple's sell-off is unjustified

While some analysts are predicting the precious metal to rise to $6,000 an ounce, others are warning investors of a period of prolonged volatility

Gold at $6000? Analysts argue about the precious metal's future after its record rally

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd.

Hapag-Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft

Shares of Israel's&nbsp;<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ZIM/">ZIM Integrated Shipping Services</a>, listed in New York, soared Tuesday more than 25% to a 3.5-year high after the company <a href="https://investors.zim.com/news/news-details/2026/ZIM-to-be-Acquired-by-Hapag-Lloyd-for-35-00-per-Share-in-Cash-at-Aggregate-Cash-Consideration-of-Approximately-4-2-Billion-New-Israeli-Company-New-ZIM-to-Acquire-Portion-of-ZIMs-Business/default.aspx">announced</a>&nbsp;an agreement according to which it will be acquired at a premium by Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd. The deal is set to strengthen Hapag-Lloyd’s position as the world’s fifth-largest container shipping company.

Stock of shipper ZIM soars to three-year high as Hapag-Lloyd agrees to takeover

Forum Markets, Incorporated

The second most capitalized cryptocurrency has fallen in price by almost 40% over the past month

PayPal and Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel dumped shares in a major Ethereum holder

Alphabet Inc.

Meta Platforms, Inc.

Microsoft Corporation

Amazon.com, Inc.

Palantir Technologies Inc.

Cathie Wood's flagship fund <a href="https://oninvest.com/article/glavnoe-k-utru-nvidia-vysla-iz-kapitala-arm-fond-keti-vud-v-zataznom-spade">is experiencing the</a> longest decline in its history, having lost more than 50% over the past five years. But Wood, famed for her optimistic vision of disruptive innovation, isn't giving up. In a new video podcast, she <a href="https://youtu.be/HiX6AxmF500?si=-TsKaIMQR-_E8vxX">revealed</a> that she doesn't share the market's fears about the AI sector. And while more conservative investors are reducing their positions in tech companies, the head of ARK Invest is using volatility to center her portfolio around the most promising assets.

"It's only 1996 on the market now": how does Cathie Wood invest in the "software apocalypse"?

Raspberry Pi Holdings plc

Shares of British Raspberry Pi, the maker of some of the simplest personal computers, <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/RPI.L/">surged</a>&nbsp;about 25% in the first minutes of trading on the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday. The move followed a <a href="https://x.com/aleabitoreddit/status/2023415224372756782">post on X</a> suggesting that AI agents such as OpenClaw could boost demand for Raspberry Pi single-board computers as an alternative to Apple devices.

Shares of tiny Raspberry Pi soar on X post that AI agents could drive demand

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

Zscaler, Inc.

Dan Ives named his favorites in the cybersecurity sector for 2026

Wedbush bets on 3 cybersecurity stocks. Why should the AI boom spur them on?

Cadence Design Systems, Inc.

Celanese Corporation

Similarweb Ltd.

Caesars Entertainment, Inc.

Danaher Corporation

Masimo Corporation

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

General Mills, Inc.

Vulcan Materials Company

NVIDIA Corporation

Daily review and forecast of events on the U.S. stock market from Mikhail Denislamov, Deputy Director of Freedom Capital Markets Research.

Morning in New York: focus on the Fed's Minutes

Applied Digital Corporation

TeraWulf Inc.

Hut 8 Corp.

In 2025, the bitcoin mining sector rebounded strongly and outpaced the performance of the cryptocurrency itself. The Smid-cap Bitcoin Miner Equal Weight Index, put together by analyst Aldiyar Anuarbekov for Oninvest, gained 46%. The index includes 17 small- and mid-cap mining companies. Meanwhile, the&nbsp;Smid-cap Bitcoin Miner Cap Weight Index&nbsp;added 27%. By comparison, bitcoin fell 9.7% in 2025, while the S&amp;P 500 rose 16.3%. In 2026, investors are increasingly betting on companies at the intersection of mining and AI infrastructure.

Bitcoin miners outperformed the cryptocurrency in 2025. What about 2026?

Every 1% increase in U.S. stock market capitalization due to IPOs then leads to a subsequent 7.5% decline in quotations, the investment firm warned

Grantham's Perpetual Bear Fund: OpenAI and SpaceX IPOs threaten to crash US stock market

ASELSAN Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi

Turkey's defense and aviation industry exports, including products and services, <a href="https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/turkiyes-defense-aviation-exports-exceed-10b-threshold-in-2025/3790365">exceeded</a> $10 billion in 2025, a record. Over the year it grew by 48%. The Turkish defense industry is booming, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-04/turkish-defense-firm-that-surged-236-in-a-year-eyes-new-markets">writes</a>. And Turkey's largest military electronics manufacturer, Aselsan Elektronik Sanayi, is competing for contracts in Europe and NATO countries. Its shares have risen 264% in value over the year, while the benchmark of the Turkish market - the BIST 100 index - is up about 45%. Askar Akhmedov, CFA, Chief Investment Officer at ATLAS Capital, wrote for Oninvest how the company secured such growth and how should investors view it?