Looking Ahead: February 23, 2026

For the holiday-shortened week, the S&P 500 gained 1.1%, as the tech-heavy Nasdaq snapped a five-week losing streak, climbing 1.5%.

Stocks rose on Friday after the Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump’s tariffs, potentially providing relief for companies burdened by higher costs from the duties and easing concern about sticky inflation still plaguing the U.S. economy.

Earlier in the day, investors received a downbeat view on growth of the U.S. economy, as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased 1.4% for the fourth quarter. That was far below gain that economists polled by Dow Jones had anticipated. The record-breaking government shutdown is largely to blame, according to the Commerce Department. That stoppage, which took place through the first half of the fourth quarter, took off around 1 percentage point from economic growth, the department estimated.

In addition to the GDP data released last Friday, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index report — the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge — showed that inflation held steady in December. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core PCE came in at 3%, in line with expectations but still well above the Fed’s 2% target.

Leading cybersecurity stocks dropped on Friday as fears grew about intensifying competition from Anthropic’s new tool. The company’s new Claude Code Security tool is capable of finding software bugs and suggesting fixes.

CrowdStrike shares dropped about 8%, while Okta lost 9.2%. Zscaler declined nearly 5.5%.

85% of S&P 500 companies have announced earnings, with industrials leading with 35% earnings growth while consumer discretionary retreated by almost 1%.

This week, investors can expect updates on consumer confidence, jobless claims, factory orders, and the Producer Price Index (PPI) as well as various housing market indicators.

If you click on the Looking Ahead link, you will find research from Wells Fargo Investment Institute. Below are excerpts from that report.

Week in review: February 17-20

Economic data

• The advanced estimate of Q4 GDP showed growth at an annualized rate of 1.4%, half the consensus estimate and slowing from Q3‘s robust 4.4% pace. With Q4 data, economic growth was reported at 2.2% for the full year of 2025.
  • Strong consumer spending was partially offset by declines in government spending and exports.
• December’s PCE inflation, personal income, and personal spending data confirmed that the U.S. consumer showed continued strength at the end of the fourth quarter.
  • Personal income growth slowed to 0.3% month-over-month and personal spending growth was steady at 0.4%.
  • Both headline and core PCE inflation accelerated to 0.4% month-over-month from 0.2% in November. The headline PCE increased 2.9% year-over-year and the core rate rose 3.0%, currently the highest since February 2025.
• The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes reflected the possibility of further adjustments to the federal funds rate if inflation remains above the 2% target level.
  • Fed policymakers have maintained that an overall stable U.S. economy provides room to be patient in considering additional rate adjustments.
  • Officials also removed language pointing to increased downside risks to employment that had appeared in the three previous statements.
• February’s preliminary manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) from S&P Global declined to 51.2 compared to 52.4 in January, which was its lowest level since July 2025. The services PMI fell to 52.3 from 52.7.
  • Manufacturing employment rose marginally as companies battled with weak sales due to bad weather.
• December’s housing data signaled an optimistic rebound in residential construction as production increased by 6.2% month-over-month, supported by favorable weather conditions and increased builder confidence.
• Building permits rose 4.3% in December to an annualized 1.45 million units, the highest level since March, supporting a broad based increase in single-family and multifamily housing operations.

Looking Ahead to this week: February 23-27

U.S.

• The highlight of the week will be February’s consumer confidence and January’s PPI.
• Also on tap: December’s factory orders, wholesale trade sales, and dual measures of home prices, along with November and December construction spending data.
• Rounding out the docket is Market News International Chicago’s PMI for February, in addition to measures of February economic activity from regional Fed banks.
• In the political realm, President Donald Trump will provide his State of the Union Address
• Several Fed members will speak at the National Association for Business Economics’ economic policy conference.

Asia

• In China, the highlight of an otherwise data-light week will be February one- and five-year loan prime rate rates.
• From Japan, look for February’s Tokyo Consumer Price Index (CPI) and January’s services PPI, retail sales, industrial production, housing starts, and department store sales.
• The Bank of Korea will hold a policy meeting, while Korean economic releases include February trade data and consumer confidence, along with January’s retail sales and PPI.
• Elsewhere in the region, Australia’s January CPI and private sector credit hit the tape.

Europe

• The focus will be on regional February consumer confidence readings, and preliminary CPIs, along with finalized Q4 GDPs and the euroszone’s finalized January CPI.
• From Germany, watch, for January retail sales, February unemployment claims, and IFO’s business climate survey.
• Also be on the lookout for Frances’s January PPI and February manufacturing confidence, along with the U.K.’s February house prices.