NextFin News - New York, Thursday, February 19, 2026
Pre‑Market Performance
- U.S. index futures (early pre‑market):
- Nasdaq‑100 (NQ): 24,871.8, −84.25 pts (−0.34%).
- S&P 500 (ES): 6,880.3, −14.0 pts (−0.20%).
- Dow Jones (YM): 49,610, −112 pts (−0.23%).
- Europe (latest session):
- FTSE 100: 10,621.96, −64.22 (−0.60%).
- CAC 40: 8,358.83, −70.20 (−0.83%).
- DAX: 25,059.62, −218.59 (−0.86%).
- Commodities & FX:
- Brent crude: $71.15 (+1.1%); WTI: $65.87 (+1.3%) — rising on U.S.–Iran tensions and Hormuz supply risk. Barron’s
- Gold: ~$5,013/oz (+0.7% around 06:34 GMT) after a flight‑to‑safety bid. Reuters via MarketScreener
- U.S. Dollar Index: ~96.9, modestly firmer following Fed minutes. YCharts Business Today
- U.S. 10‑year Treasury yield: ~4.10% as yields edge up post‑minutes. Saxo Bank
Macroeconomic Policy and Data
- Inflation (CPI, January 2026): Headline +2.4% y/y (consensus +2.5%, prior +2.7%); +0.2% m/m (consensus +0.3%, prior +0.3%). Core +2.5% y/y; +0.3% m/m. Easing inflation keeps the disinflation trend intact into early 2026. CBS News Yahoo Finance FocusEconomics
- Labor market (Initial jobless claims, week ended Feb 7): 227,000 (consensus 222,000; prior 232,000), pointing to still‑contained layoffs. Reuters
- Fed policy (FOMC minutes, Jan 27–28; released Feb 18): Officials held the policy rate around 3.5%–3.75% and noted that progress toward 2% inflation may be “slower and uneven,” preserving optionality on cuts and, if needed, hikes. Markets interpret a cautious, data‑dependent path. Federal Reserve Financial Times
- Upcoming releases: BEA will publish Q4 2025 GDP (advance) and December 2025 Personal Income & Outlays (including PCE) on Friday, Feb 20 at 8:30 a.m. ET; January PPI has been rescheduled to Feb 27 due to prior shutdown disruptions. BEA schedule BEA PCE page BLS PPI notice
Market take: Softer CPI and steady claims support a "slow‑cooling" narrative, but firmer oil and a stronger dollar after the Fed minutes temper easing bets. Near‑term risk assets are balancing upbeat AI‑led earnings momentum against higher energy costs and an elevated geopolitical risk premium.
Hot News
- Oil spikes on Middle East risk — Brent pushes past $70 and WTI near $66 as investors price potential U.S. action against Iran and possible Hormuz disruptions; energy equities are bid pre‑market. MarketWatch Barron’s
- Fed minutes underscore caution — The minutes highlight uneven disinflation and a preference to wait for clearer evidence before additional easing, prompting markets to trim the pace of expected cuts. Federal Reserve
- AI infrastructure splurge accelerates — Meta signs a multiyear, multibillion‑dollar deal to buy millions of Nvidia chips, reinforcing megacap capex build‑outs into 2026 and keeping AI supply chains in focus. Financial Times
- OPEC+ keeps policy steady — The group holds output strategy with more than 3 mb/d of cuts still in place and advances work on 2027 capacity baselines, helping anchor the crude backdrop. Reuters
U.S. Stock Focus
- Walmart (WMT) — Q4 revenue rose 5.6% y/y to $190.7B and adjusted EPS of $0.74 topped by a penny, but FY guidance (sales +3.5%–4.5%, EPS $2.75–$2.85) trailed Street expectations; board authorized $30B in buybacks and raised the dividend by 5%. Barron’s Financial Times
- Nvidia (NVDA) — Shares are choppy ahead of the Feb 25 report as analysts flag potential top‑line upside; separate reports link OpenAI fundraising and Meta’s chip deal to sustained GPU demand. Barron’s Financial Times
- Apple (AAPL) — Company set a March 4 product event amid expectations for a budget iPhone and refreshed iPads; near‑term "Siri 2.0" AI upgrades reportedly pushed to later in 2026. Investor’s Business Daily
- Microsoft (MSFT) — FY26 Q2 revenue climbed 17% to $81.3B with AI‑driven cloud momentum; management highlighted the early phase of AI diffusion across workloads. Microsoft IR
- Applied Materials (AMAT) — F1Q26 revenue of $7.01B (−2% y/y) and non‑GAAP EPS of $2.38 matched year‑ago levels; management guided Q2 revenue to ~$7.65B (±$0.5B) as AI‑linked spending supports tools demand. GlobeNewswire
- DoorDash (DASH) — Q4 adjusted EPS $0.48 and revenue $3.96B missed estimates, but GOV grew 39% to $29.7B; stock swung as Q1 GOV outlook ($31.0B–$31.8B) topped estimates. Investing.com Barron’s
- Palo Alto Networks (PANW) — FQ2 beat (EPS $1.03; rev. $2.59B) was offset by lower full‑year EPS guidance ($3.65–$3.70) amid acquisition costs; shares fell on margin and organic growth concerns. Investopedia
- Occidental Petroleum (OXY) — Q4 adjusted EPS $0.31 topped forecasts; dividend raised to $0.26 and the balance sheet strengthened after the OxyChem sale, lifting the energy cohort alongside higher crude. Occidental IR Zacks
Pre‑market tone: Futures are modestly lower with oil strength, firming yields and a steadier dollar counterbalancing AI‑led optimism. Today’s corporate updates and tomorrow’s GDP/PCE prints will set near‑term direction.
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