US futures retreat after Nvidia-led rally, oil prices rise on reports of potential US-Iran conflict

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By ELAINE KURTENBACH

Markets on Wall Street Thursday were poised to give back a slice of the gains made a day earlier on the shoulders of computer chip giant Nvidia.

Futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.2% before the opening bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%. Nasdaq futures were off close to 0.3%.

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Walmart shares sank more than 3% in premarket after the retail giant hinted at a volatile economic environment ahead, despite delivering another quarter of standout results. In its first reporting period since new CEO John Furner took the helm from Doug McMillon, Walmart nudged past sales and profit expectations as the promise of lower prices drew in a broader spectrum of Americans during the critical holiday shopping period.

EBay shares jumped nearly 8% overnight after the online auction site breezed past sales and profit targets and announced that it was paying Etsy $1.2 billion to acquire the secondhand fashion marketplace Depop in a bid to capture a bigger share of the Gen Z market.

In energy trading, oil prices rose around 1.5% on media reports that the likelihood of a U.S. conflict with Iran was rising.

President Donald Trump has been weighing whether to take military action against Iran as his administration surges military resources to the region while holding indirect talks with Tehran over its nuclear program. That is raising concerns that any attack could spiral into a larger conflict in the Middle East.

U.S. benchmark crude oil gained $1.02 to $66.07 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, picked up $1 to $71.35.

Elsewhere, in European trading, Germany’s DAX lost 0.9% by midday, while the CAC 40 in Paris slid 0.8%. Britain’s FTSE 100 gave up 0.6%.

A chart above the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange displays an intraday number for the SPY, tracking the S&P 500, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Markets in Greater China were closed for Lunar New Year holidays, while some others in the region reopened for trading.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 added 0.6% to 57,467.83, while in South Korea, the Kospi jumped 3.1% to 5,677.25 as markets reopened following holidays earlier in the week. Samsung Electronics, the market’s biggest heavyweight, gained 4.9%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.9% to 9,086.20.

Southeast Asian markets surged, with Thailand’s SET up 1.7%. India’s Sensex shed early gains to fall 1.1%.

In currency trading early Thursday, the dollar bought 154.79 Japanese yen, down from 154.83 yen. The euro fell to $1.1771 from $1.1782.

The price for an ounce of gold held steady just above $5,000 while silver ticked down less than 1% to $78 an ounce.

Bitcoin was effectively flat at $66,559.

Clashes in the West Bank kill a 19-year-old Palestinian-American, Palestinian officials say

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By MELANIE LIDMAN

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Clashes in the Israeli-occupied West Bank killed a 19-year-old Palestinian-American man late Wednesday night, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

The ministry said Nasrallah Muhammad Jamal Abu Siyam was shot by settlers in the village of Mukhmas, north of Jerusalem.

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The Israeli military said soldiers responded to a violent confrontation in the area and attempted to disperse a riot. The military said that suspects shot at several Palestinians, who were evacuated for medical treatment.

Abu Siyam’s mother told The Associated Press that he also held American citizenship. The U.S. Embassy did not respond to requests for comment Thursday,

Violence in the West Bank from extremist settlers has soared in the past few years.

Palestinians and rights groups say authorities routinely fail to prosecute settlers or hold them accountable for violence. Under National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, investigations into settler attacks have plummeted, according to the Israeli rights group Yesh Din.

In a rare move earlier this week, Israeli prosecutors announced they plan to charge a settler in the killing of a Palestinian activist during a confrontation that was caught on video.

More than 3.4 million Palestinians and 700,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by Palestinians for a future state. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlement construction in these areas to be illegal and an obstacle to peace.

Report finds Palestinian journalists imprisoned in Israel were tortured

The Committee to Protect Journalists said that dozens of Palestinian journalists who were detained in Israel during the war in Gaza experienced terrible conditions, including physical assaults, forced stress positions, sensory deprivation, sexual violence and medical neglect.

CPJ has documented the detention of at least 94 Palestinian journalists and one media worker during the war in Gaza. It covers 32 journalists and one media worker from Gaza, 60 from the West Bank, and two from Israel. Thirty of the journalists are still in custody, CPJ said.

The report found that half of the journalists detained were never charged with a crime and were held under Israel’s administrative detention system, which allows for suspects deemed a security risk to be held for six months and can be renewed indefinitely.

Israel’s prison services did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the report, but had rejected a similar report in January about conditions for Palestinian prisoners as “false allegations,” contending it operates lawfully, is subject to oversight and reviews complaints.

UN development chief says removing Gaza rubble will take 7 years

The vast destruction across Gaza will take at least seven years just to remove the rubble, according to the United Nations Development Program.

Alexander De Croo, the former Belgian prime minister who just returned from Gaza, said that the UNDP had removed just 0.5% of the rubble and people in Gaza are experiencing “the worst living conditions that I have ever seen.”

De Croo said 90% of Gaza’s 2.2 million people live in “very, very rudimentary tents” in the middle of the rubble, which poses health dangers and a danger from exploding weapons.

He said UNDP has been able to build 500 improved housing units, and has 4,000 more that are ready, but estimates the true need is 200,000 to 300,000 units. The units are meant to be used temporarily while reconstruction takes place. He called on Israel to expand access for goods and items needed for reconstruction and the private sector to begin development.

Associated Press writer Edith Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

Find more of AP’s coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Slow morning commute after several inches of snow fell in metro

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It’s a slow commute on Thursday morning after several inches of snow fell in parts of the metro starting during the Wednesday evening commute and continuing overnight.

On Thursday morning, the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service reports that 7.6 inches of snow fell at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, 6.5 inches at Chanhassen, 2.5 inches in Eau Claire, Wis. and only 0.2 inches for St. Cloud.

“The surface low went across central MN,” the weather service reported on X, “so this is where a corridor of bore showed up, with heavy snow to the north and south of the low.”

Other totals were still incoming on Thursday morning, but as with St. Cloud, some areas of the extended metro saw no or little snow, with the most snow falling in the south metro.

A narrow band of light snow remains stationary over portions of Minnesota and western Wisconsin on Thursday morning, the weather service noted.

“Many routes are partially snow-covered, especially southwest Twin Cities metro,” the weather service warned on X. “Give yourself extra time for the morning commute as it may be slower than normal!”

The difficult conditions began during the Wednesday afternoon and evening commutes, with slow traffic and near whiteout conditions for some.

From 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the Minnesota State Patrol reported six injury crashes, 132 property damage crashes, 109 vehicles off the road, eight vehicle spin outs and eight jackknifed semis.

The State Patrol recommends checking out 511mn.org before heading out, as well as slowing down and driving safely for these conditions.

It’s a mild storm compared to what the North Shore faced, including snow, whiteout conditions, travel difficulties on U.S. 61 and breaking up the ice on the ice caves of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore in Wisconsin.

Later today in the Twin Cities, it’s expected to warm up to a seasonable 32 degrees.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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Walmart delivers another quarter of impressive sales but offers a muted outlook

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By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart delivered another standout quarter as the promise of lower prices and speedy deliveries drew in a broader spectrum of Americans during the critical holiday shopping period, including wealthier households.

The outlook from the Bentonville, Arkansas, company, however, hinted at a volatile economic environment ahead on Thursday.

Shares dipped more than 3% before the opening bell.

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Walmart reported fourth quarter earnings of $4.24 billion, or 53 cents per share for the quarter ended Jan. 31. Adjusted per-share results were 74 cents, a penny better than Wall Street expected, according to FactSet.

Last year, the company reported net income of $5.25 billion, or 65 cents per share.

Sales rose 5.6% to $190.7 billion, from $180.6 billion, also edging out expectations.

Comparable sales at Walmart stores, including online sales, rose 4.6% after a 4.5% increase in the previous quarter. Sales were broadly stronger, particularly groceries, which have been an enormous generator of traffic for Walmart, the company said. And Walmart said. Speedier deliveries helped fuel the sales momentum, with expedited deliveries under three hours accounting for 35% of orders from stores, the company said.

U.S. e-commerce business increased 27% during the quarter, accounting for 23% of overall sales. Global e-commerce sales rose 24%.

It is the first quarter time in more than a decade that the retail giant is reporting quarterly earning under a new chief executive.

John Furner, 51, who headed the company’s U.S. operations, took over for Doug McMillon this month. McMillon had turned America’s largest retailer into a tech-powered giant and spearheaded an era of robust sales growth after being named Walmart’s CEO in 2014.

Walmart’s shares rose more than 25% since its last quarterly earnings report and earlier this month it became the first non-tech company to reach a valuation of more than a $1 trillion.

It has done so with many Americans carefully considering where they spend money because of inflation and how the company performs is considered a barometer of consumer spending given its vast customer base. More than 150 million customers are on its website or in its stores every week, according to Walmart.

While inflation has cooled, consumer prices have soared about 25% over the past five years. Many economists expect more companies will begin passing on higher costs from higher U.S. tariffs to their customers in coming months.

Walmart’s promise of lower prices has broadened its base to include wealthier shoppers in that environment, with the biggest gains in market share coming from households with annual income over $100,000.

Walmart has managed higher costs both by shifting what it offers on store shelves while absorbing some higher costs.

The company said that for the current quarter, it expects sales to increase anywhere from 3.5% to 4.5% and earnings per share to be in the range of 63 cents to 65 cents. For the year, it expects sales to reach $706.4 billion and earnings per share to be $2.64.

That is a little cooler than Wall Street had been projecting. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting per-share earnings of 68 cents in the first quarter. For the year, they have been projecting earnings of $2.64 per share on sales of $712.6 billion.