Benzinga·2026-02-20 09:57Market Overview - U.S. stock futures rose on Friday after a decline on Thursday, with all major benchmark indices showing positive futures [1] - Wall Street is anticipating the release of fourth-quarter GDP data and the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditure Price Index [1] Treasury Bonds - The 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.07%, while the two-year bond was at 3.47% [2] - The CME Group's FedWatch tool indicates a 94% likelihood that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates unchanged in March [2] Index Performance - Dow Jones increased by 0.26%, S&P 500 by 0.37%, Nasdaq 100 by 0.47%, and Russell 2000 by 0.34% [3] Company Performance - Copart Inc. (NASDAQ: CPRT) dropped 6.64% after reporting quarterly earnings of 36 cents per share, missing the consensus estimate of 40 cents [6] - Comfort Systems USA Inc. (NYSE: FIX) rose 4.57% after better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and an increase in its quarterly dividend [6] - Candel Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: CADL) declined 12.27% following the announcement of a $100 million public stock offering [7] Sector Insights - Utilities led gains with a 1.13% increase, while Financials experienced the steepest decline, dropping 0.86% [8] Analyst Insights - Scott Wren from Wells Fargo Investment Institute has upgraded the GDP growth forecast to 2.9% from 2.4%, maintaining a bullish outlook on the U.S. economy [9] - Wren recommends focusing on sectors sensitive to growth, specifically Financials and Industrials, which are expected to benefit from AI infrastructure developments [10] - Wren views market pullbacks as opportunities to invest in large- and mid-cap domestic equities rather than retreating into defensive assets [10] Upcoming Economic Data - Key economic data to be released includes fourth-quarter GDP, personal income, spending, and PCE data, along with February's S&P flash U.S. services and manufacturing PMI [13]