Market Overview - U.S. equity markets finished higher on February 20, 2026, driven by a Supreme Court ruling that struck down emergency tariffs, providing relief to retail and trade-sensitive sectors [1][3] - Major indexes showed resilience, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 93.81 points (0.2%) to close at approximately 49,489, the S&P 500 rising 0.6% to finish at 6,911, and the Nasdaq Composite climbing 0.8% to end near 22,800 [2] Economic Data - Fourth-quarter GDP grew at an annualized rate of 1.4%, significantly below the 2.5% consensus estimate, attributed to a government shutdown and deceleration in consumer spending [4] - The December Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index rose 0.4% month-over-month and 3.0% annually, exceeding expectations, leading to a reassessment of interest rate cut probabilities [5] Corporate News and Stock Movements - Technology and retail stocks benefited from the tariff ruling, with Alphabet (GOOGL) jumping nearly 4% and Amazon (AMZN) rising 2%, improving outlooks for digital advertising and e-commerce margins [6] - Nike (NKE) and Deckers Outdoors (DECK) both climbed 2%, while Walmart (WMT) fell 2% after a downgrade to "Hold" from HSBC [7] - RingCentral (RNG) soared 32% after a strong earnings report, while Copart (CPRT) tumbled 7% after missing revenue estimates [7] Upcoming Market Events - The earnings report from Nvidia (NVDA) on February 25 is anticipated to be a bellwether for the AI sector, with analysts expecting revenue guidance near $65 billion [8] - Other upcoming events include the Conference Board Consumer Confidence report on February 24 and January Durable Goods orders [9]

U.S. equity markets experienced a volatile afternoon of trading on Thursday, February 19th, 2026, as investors grappled with a mix of disappointing corporate guidance from retail giants and escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. While the major indexes attempted to find their footing following a mid-week rally, the sentiment turned cautious as the reality of "higher-for-longer" interest rates was reinforced by recent Federal Reserve minutes and fresh economic data.Major Index Performance and S ...