Caught the market getting hammered back in late February and it's worth looking back at what went down. The S&P 500 dropped 0.43% that day, putting February on track for its worst month in nearly a year. Nasdaq fell almost a point and the Dow wasn't looking great either.

The culprit? Inflation data came in hotter than expected, which spooked everyone about whether the Fed would actually cut rates. But honestly, AI today was probably the bigger story. Nvidia got absolutely crushed after earnings and went negative for the year, which dragged down the whole tech sector. Meanwhile Dell somehow managed to pop over 20% on solid guidance, so the AI rotation wasn't uniform.

There were some weird moves that day too. Ambarella beat earnings but tanked anyway due to billing concerns. Netflix actually rallied after backing out of the Warner Bros deal, while Paramount Skydance jumped over 20% after agreeing to the acquisition. Zscaler also got hit despite beating expectations.

The broader picture was messy - inflation worries, AI today creating both opportunities and fears, plus some contagion concerns in the financial sector after a UK mortgage lender collapsed. A lot of people were questioning whether the AI rally had gotten too frothy. Worth remembering that even when individual stocks move dramatically, the macro backdrop matters just as much.