The Week Ahead: February Closes with Inflation Data, Dow Earnings

• PPI and core PPI for January release Friday, Feb. 27, along with construction spending data for November and December, and Chicago PMI
• Notable earnings reports include Dow members Home Depot, Nvidia, and Salesforce, plus Dell Technologies, Domino's Pizza, Lowe's, HP, Snowflake, and TJX
• Multiple Federal Reserve officials scheduled to speak throughout the week, including Governor Christopher Waller, Chicago Fed President Goolsbee, Fed President Bostic, and Governor Lisa Cook

Summary

Key Events: The final week of February 2026 brings critical inflation data and major corporate earnings, with markets focused on the January Producer Price Index (PPI) release scheduled for Friday, February 27.

Economic Calendar:

• Monday, Feb. 23: Factory orders data; Fed Governor Christopher Waller remarks
• Tuesday, Feb. 24: S&P Case-Shiller home price index, wholesale inventories, consumer confidence; speeches from Fed officials Goolsbee, Bostic, and Cook
• Wednesday, Feb. 25: Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin speech
• Thursday, Feb. 26: Weekly jobless claims
• Friday, Feb. 27: PPI and core PPI (January), construction spending (November-December), Chicago PMI

Major Earnings Reports: Three Dow Jones components headline the week: Home Depot (HD), Nvidia (NVDA), and Salesforce (CRM). Other notable companies reporting include Domino's Pizza (DPZ), Dell Technologies (DELL), Lowe's (LOW), HP Inc. (HPQ), Mosaic (MOS), Snowflake (SNOW), and TJX (TJX).

Market Implications: The delayed economic data releases, particularly the PPI inflation reading, will provide crucial insights into pricing pressures affecting corporate margins and Federal Reserve policy direction. The concentration of Federal Reserve official speeches throughout the week signals heightened attention to monetary policy messaging. Heavy earnings activity from major retailers (Home Depot, Lowe's, TJX) and technology leaders (Nvidia, Dell, Salesforce) will offer vital indicators of consumer spending strength and enterprise technology demand heading into Q1 2026.

The convergence of inflation data and high-profile earnings creates potential for significant market volatility as investors assess both economic conditions and corporate performance.