What to Watch in the Day Ahead - Thursday, February 19

Reuters
5 hours ago
What to Watch in the Day Ahead - Thursday, February 19

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Walmart will report its fourth-quarter earnings, with the company's revenue expected to beat estimates after a strong holiday quarter. Investors will be watching closely for any hints on how Walmart's strategy might evolve under the new leadership.

On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department is expected to issue jobless claims data, where the initial claims for state unemployment benefits likely dropped by 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 225,000 for the week ended February 14. Continued jobless claims likely fell to 1.860 million for the week ended February 7 from 1.862 million in the prior week. In addition, the National Association of Realtors is scheduled to release the pending home sales data, which is expected to increase 1.3% in January, after a 9.3% decline in December. Meanwhile, the Census Bureau is expected to show the trade deficit likely narrowed to $55.5 billion in December, following a deficit of $56.8 billion in November. Separately, the Philadelphia Fed Business Index is expected to come in at 8.5 in February, down from 12.6 in January.

Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic is expected to give opening remarks before the Banking Outlook Conference "The Next Horizon in Banking" (0820/1320). Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman is also slated to give opening remarks at the same conference (0830/1330). Meanwhile, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari is expected to give a keynote speech before the Midwest Summit: Economic Outlook 2026 hosted by the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce (0900/1400). Separately, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee is expected to give opening remarks before the 2026 Joint Conference on Financial Crises (1030/1530). He is also slated to moderate a Q&A panel at the same event (1430/1930).

Targa Resources is expected to post a rise in its fourth-quarter adjusted profit, boosted by record natural gas flows.

CenterPoint Energy is expected to report a rise in its fourth-quarter profit. Investors will look for commentary on demand growth driven by AI and data centers.

Etsy will report its fourth quarter earnings with the firm expected to post a rise in fourth-quarter profit. Investors will be keen to hear more on the holiday season sales and any changes to its annual forecast as macroeconomic uncertainties loom.

On the Canadian radar, the Statistics Canada is expected to publish the trade balance for December and January's New Housing Price Index data.

In Latam, Brazil's central bank is projected to release the IBC-BR economic activity data, which likely declined 0.50% in December, against a 0.70% increase in November. Separately, Argentina's National Institute of Statistics and Censuses is expected to release trade balance data for January.

(Compiled by Rahul Raj in Bengaluru; Edited by Vijay Kishore)

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