What Happened?

A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after a combination of hot inflation data and geopolitical turmoil rattled investor confidence. 

The Producer Price Index (PPI) surged 0.7% in February, more than doubling economist estimates of 0.3%. This spike in wholesale costs, driven by rising tariffs and manufacturing inputs, signaled a shift toward structural, "sticky" inflation that may persist longer than anticipated. Anxiety intensified as Brent crude jumped 4% to $108 a barrel following reports that Israel struck a major Iranian gas facility. With Iran threatening retaliatory strikes on Gulf energy infrastructure, Wall Street increasingly priced in a scenario where rising energy costs flow directly to consumers. 

The selloff deepened as the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates at 3.5% to 3.75%, explicitly citing the "uncertain" economic impact of the escalating Middle East conflict. While the Fed signaled one potential cut later in the year, Chair Jerome Powell admitted that progress on inflation had been slower than hoped, dousing dreams of a more aggressive pivot. This hawkish caution, reflected in the Dow's drop and 1% declines in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, suggests that monetary easing may be delayed deep into the third quarter.

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:

• Office & Commercial Furniture company Interface (NASDAQ: TILE) fell 3.8%. Is now the time to buy Interface? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Advertising & Marketing Services company Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC) fell 2.5%. Is now the time to buy Omnicom Group? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
• Digital Media & Content Platforms company WEBTOON (NASDAQ: WBTN) fell 3%. Is now the time to buy WEBTOON? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

Zooming In On Interface (TILE)

Interface’s shares are not very volatile and have only had 4 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful, although it might not be something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 8 months ago when the stock gained 19.1% on the news that the company reported strong second-quarter earnings that surpassed analyst expectations and raised its full-year forecast. The carpet tile maker announced adjusted earnings of $0.60 per share on revenue of approximately $376 million, which comfortably beat Wall Street's projections. This performance represented a significant 50% jump in adjusted earnings and an 8% increase in sales compared to the same quarter last year. Following the strong results, management lifted its financial guidance for the full year. The company credited its success to its "One Interface" strategy, which helped drive market share gains and expanded its gross profit margin.

Interface is down 8.2% since the beginning of the year, and at $26.08 per share, it is trading 25.2% below its 52-week high of $34.87 from February 2026. Despite the year-to-date decline, investors who bought $1,000 worth of Interface’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,958.

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