Looking Ahead: Short Week with economic data, central bank commentary and key earnings

MARKETS TODAY Feb 20 @10:30 am EST (Vica Partners)

(^DJI) 33,827 (), S&P 500 (^GSPC) 4,079 () Nasdaq (^IXIC) 11787 (), Russell 2000 (^RUT) 1,946 (+4), NYSE FANG+ (^NYFANG) 5,537 (), Brent Crude $83.99/barrel (+$0.99), Gold $1,843/oz (+$4), Bitcoin $24.9k (+$635)

Week Ahead Overview                                                               

  • US Market Closed for President’s Day/ Monday
  • S&P 500 Index ($SPX) close 4,079-/ 5 Day 4,118-/ 20 Day 4,093-
  • Dow Jones In ($DOWI) close 33,827-/ 5 Day 33,997-/ 20 Day 33,923-
  • Nasdaq Co ($NASX) close 11,787-/ 5 Day 11,913+/ 20 Day 11,757+
  • NYSE FANG+ >10% above the 200d.
  • Yields approaching short term highs
  • Oil/ Brent should break out above $85 for the week
  • Metals markets continue to test lows except “promising” Copper
  • Bitcoin up and trading in greater than >$25k rang, +50% YTD
  • Newsworthy earnings Tuesday: Home Depot (HD), Walmart (WMT), Diamondback (FANG), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), Coinbase Global (COIN)
  • International Tuesday, Putin delivers State of the Union Address
  • Key earnings Wednesday: NVIDIA (NVDA), Rio Tinto ADR (RIO), Baidu (BIDU)
  • Expect continued hawkish central bank commentary with this week’s CPI’s as markets have priced in 25bps interim rate hike in March

Technicals/ Sector Performance/ Yields+

Index Moving Averages

S&P 500 Index ($SPX) close 4,079/ 50 Day 3,998+/ 100 Day 3,901+/ 200 Day 3,943+

Dow Jones In ($DOWI) close 33,827/ 50 Day 33,630+/ 100 Day 32,784+/ 200 Day 32,347+

Nasdaq Co ($NASX) close 11,787/ 50 Day 11,154+/ 100 Day 11,034+/ 200 Day 11,421+

S&P 500 Sectors:

Yields declining: US 2yr to 4.617%-, 5yr to 4.027%-, 10yr to 3.817%-, 30yr to 3.866%-

Greed Index Rating NA/ Greed

Company Earnings Calendar  

Monday/ None

Tuesday

  • Pre-Market: ARNC, CPRT, DAN, ELAN, EXPD, FLR, HD, HLX, HUN, JBT, MDT, MTW, PEG, PLOW, TAP, TRN, VAL, WLK, WMB, WMT
  • Post-Market: AIV, CHK, COIN, CSGP, CZR, EXAS, FANG, FLS, KEYS, O, PANW, PSA, RIG, SBAC, TOL, UNVR, ZIP

Wednesday

  • Pre-Market: ALLE, BIDU, CRL, DOC, EDIT, GRMN, NI, OSTK, TJX
  • Post-Market: ANSS, APA, ATUS, BMBL, BROS, CAKE, CTRA, DVA, EBAY, ETSY, FIVN, LCID, MOS, NTAP, NUVA, NVDA, PXD, RUN, STAA, TDOC, TNDM, U

Thursday

  • Pre-Market: AEP, AMT, BABA, BHC, CBRE, COMM, DEN, DPZ, DTE, FTI, GPC, GRAB, IRM, KDP, LAZY, LKQ, LNG, MFA, MPW, MRNA, NEM, NKLA, NTES, PCG, PLNT, PWR, PZZA, TFX, W, YETI
  • Post-Market: ADSK, BIGC, BKNG, BYND, CE, CVNA, EIX, EOG, FND, GH, INTU, LSI, LYV, OLED, OPEN, PAY, PODD, SQ, SWN, VICI, WBD

Friday  

  • Pre-Market: DINO, EVRG, FUBO, GTLS, SLCA, TPB
  • Post-Market: None

U.S Economic News

  • Monday: None
  • Tuesday: Flash PMIs, Existing Home Sales
  • Wednesday: Mortgage apps, Energy/API Inventories
  • Thursday: Claims, Q4 GDP (revision), Chicago/KC Fed Index
  • Friday: Personal income/spending, PCE, New home sales, Final U of Mich. Sentiment, Energy-Rig Count

Other Asset Classes:

  • CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX): 0.00 to 20.02
  • USD index: -0.02 to $103.84
  • Oil prices: Brent: +1.19% to $83.99, WTI: +0.90% to $77.03, Nat Gas: +0.04% to $2.276
  • Gold: +0.22% to $1,842.82, Silver: +1.02% to $21.75, Copper: +1.46% to $4.16
  • Bitcoin: +2.61% to $24.9k

Business News  

  • Meta to test monthly subscription service priced at $11.99 Reuters
  • Oil rises 1% on China demand hopes and supply concerns Reuters
  • Airbus’ defence arm says Berlin delaying exports worth billions Reuters
  • To raise prices or not? Consumer goods makers weigh bets on buyer strength Reuters

Vica Momentum Stock Report

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $BIDI (Momentum B) (Value A) (Growth A), moving averages/ 50 Day -20.78%, 100 Day +18.62%, 200 Day +11.08%, Year-to-Date +23.89%

Strong Overall Buy Rating

Baidu Inc. (BIDU) garners a Vica strong overall buy rating
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) garners a Vica strong overall buy rating

Baidu, Inc. operates an Internet search engine. The Company offers algorithmic search, enterprise search, news, MP3, and image searches, voice assistance, online storage, and navigation services. Baidu serves clients globally.

 

 

 

 

Market Outlook and updates posted at vicapartners.com

Journal

News

VMSI Edges Up to 25.2, But Market Remains Deep in Risk-Off Territory

What is VMSI? The VICA Market Sentiment Index tracks institutional capital flows, risk posture, and macro volatility weekly. Built for ...
News

Institutional Allocators Aren’t Watching Volatility—They’re Designing Into It

VICA Partners Intelligence | April 2025 A regime transition in capital allocation is underway—and the smartest money is leading the ...
News

VMSI Drops to 22.4 as Risk-Off Accelerates and Volatility Deepens

VMSI Gauge Chart — Displaying Current Sentiment and Risk Level The VMSI gauge indicates a current sentiment score of 22.4, ...