ORLANDO, Florida, Feb 26 (Reuters) - A heavy selloff in

tech stocks pushed the S&P 500 and Nasdaq lower on Thursday

after investors' initial positive reaction to AI chipmaker

Nvidia's ( NVDA ) results was replaced by doubt and pessimism, while

safe-haven assets gold and Treasuries rose.

More on that below. In my column today I look at the

blistering rally in emerging market equities this year, led by

South Korea's astonishing 50% surge, and ponder when the pause

or correction comes. There's no way it can continue at this

pace, can it?

If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I

recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets

today.

1. Nvidia's ( NVDA ) CEO prepares investors for a renewed

battle

with Intel, AMD

2. IMF calls for U.S. fiscal consolidation to bring

down

"too big" current account deficit

3. To win Europe's embrace, China needs to uncap the

yuan:

Mike Dolan

4. Rare earth shortages worsen in U.S. aerospace,

chips

despite trade truce, sources say

5. Japan's Takaichi gets her doves in a row with BOJ

board

appointees

Today's Key Market Moves

* STOCKS: Nasdaq -1.3%, S&P 500 -0.5%. Dow and

Russell

2000 in the green. New highs overnight for Japan, Taiwan, South

Korea, UK, and MSCI EM and Asia ex-Japan benchmark indices.

* SECTORS/SHARES: Seven of S&P 500's 11 sectors

fall, tech

-1.8%. Philadelphia semiconductor index -3%, Nvidia ( NVDA ) -5.5%.

Financials +1.3%, Paramount Skydance +10%.

* FX: Dollar index ends flat. Sterling biggest G10

decliner, most EM FX falls. Big exception is China's yuan -

onshore and offshore CNY highest in nearly three years, onshore

CNY on longest winning streak since 2010.

* BONDS: U.S. yields fall 3-4 bps, 7-year auction is

ok.

30-year U.S. mortgage rates below 6% for first time since

September 2022. UK 10-yr gilt yield lowest since Dec 2024.

* COMMODITIES/METALS: Oil and gold slip a bit, with

all

eyes on U.S.-Iran talks, Comex copper has 3-week closing high.

Today's Talking Points

* Tech's sentiment seesaw in full swing

Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares spiked 4% in after-hours trade on Wednesday

immediately after Q4 results showed a solid sales beat and

forecast-busting outlook. But that's evidently not enough, and

shares sank 5.5% on Thursday, the biggest fall since April and

wiping $260 billion off the company's value.

The last 24 hours show how skittish the market is around AI

and whether its disruptive force will be for good or ill. More

pressing, will AI deliver the returns investors expect from the

huge capex underway across the sector? Views on that seem to

change from day to day.

* Summer Fed cut hopes fade

As debate swirls around Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh's

dovish or hawkish tendencies, recent moves in interest rate

futures markets bear watching - the next fully-priced quarter

percentage point rate cut is being pushed back to September.

Presuming Warsh is confirmed by lawmakers and succeeds

Jerome Powell in May as planned, that implies the Fed won't be

easing until his third policy meeting as Chair. With core PCE

inflation at 3%, this pause seems reasonable. President Donald

Trump, looking to November's potentially tricky midterm

elections, might not be so understanding.

* U.S. mortgage "relief"

Any frustration Trump may feel about sticky interest rates

could be offset by more encouraging signals from the housing

market - average 30-year mortgage rates are now below 6% for the

first time since September 2022.

Psychologically, the break into 5% territory could be

significant for would-be homeowners, and if sustained, could

help ease the affordability crisis ahead of the midterm

elections. That said, borrowing to buy a house is still

expensive - some 70% of all existing mortgages are at rates

below 5%.

What could move markets tomorrow?

* Japan Tokyo CPI inflation (February)

* Japan industrial production (January, prelim)

* India GDP (Q3)

* Germany unemployment (February)

* Germany CPI inflation (February)

* Bank of England chief economist Huw Pill speaks

* Canada GDP (Q4)

* U.S. producer price inflation (January)

* U.S. Chicago PMI (February)

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