What Happened?

A number of stocks traded in opposite directions in the afternoon session after geopolitical tensions between the United States and the European Union escalated, sparking fears of a renewed trade war. 

The broader markets adopted a "risk-off" mode, with investors seeking safe-haven assets amidst the uncertainty. The market's primary fear gauge, the VIX, jumped to a fresh eight-week high, signaling rising investor anxiety. The dispute, centered on Greenland, raised the possibility of a revived trade conflict, which could disrupt global supply chains and economic activity. 

Mega-cap technology stocks, many of which have significant international sales and operations, were particularly affected by the souring risk sentiment as a potential trade war threatened their global business models.

The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.

Among others, the following stocks were impacted:

• Data Storage company MongoDB (NASDAQ: MDB) fell 3.5%. Is now the time to buy MongoDB? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Data Infrastructure company C3.ai (NYSE: AI) fell 1.3%. Is now the time to buy C3.ai? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Advertising Software company LiveRamp (NYSE: RAMP) jumped 0.2%. Is now the time to buy LiveRamp? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Lending Software company Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST) fell 3.6%. Is now the time to buy Upstart? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Data Storage company DigitalOcean (NYSE: DOCN) fell 2.9%. Is now the time to buy DigitalOcean? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Upstart (UPST)

Upstart’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 69 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The previous big move we wrote about was 15 days ago when the stock gained 9% as investor attention turned to the annual CES 2026 technology conference in Las Vegas, with artificial intelligence emerging as a central theme. 

Attention shifted to tech giants, whose CEOs would headline the event. This focus continued the AI-fuelled momentum that drove market gains the previous year. The rally had global reach, with an MSCI Asia Pacific Index surge being driven by heavyweight chip names like Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. The event reinforced investor confidence in the long-term demand for the booming AI and chipmaking trend, boosting shares of companies across the semiconductor and technology space.

Upstart is flat since the beginning of the year, and at $45.43 per share, it is trading 48.8% below its 52-week high of $88.77 from February 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Upstart’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $822.71.

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