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Cold Snap. A cooler-than-expected inflation report left stocks flat on the day, but pushed Treasury yields lower as investors priced in the possibility of more rate cuts in the months to come. |
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The 2-year and 10-year Treasury bonds were each down roughly five basis points on the day, or 0.05 percentage points. Over the last two days the two- and 10-year yields have dropped 10 and 12 basis points, respectively. That’s their largest two-day declines since October. |
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Stock investors were less moved. Though the major indexes were all substantially higher in midday trading, they closed essentially flat. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 49 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 was barely changed. And the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.2%. All three indexes saw weekly declines of more than 1%, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq falling the most, down 2.1% on the week. |
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The day kicked off with a surprise pullback in inflation. The consumer price index for January showed a year-over-year gain of 2.4%, below a 2.5% estimate and down from December’s 2.7% rate. Perhaps most notably, “everyday expenses such as food, gasoline and housing also showed signs of cooling,” my colleague Megan Leonhardt notes. |
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Fed policymakers may be the happiest group. Megan writes: |
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Even Fed officials may be pleased with the January CPI print. “With a headline CPI print like this, the door to another Fed rate cut in the near term opens wider,” writes Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economic research at Fitch Ratings. “Tariff-induced increases are visible in the details and will raise some eyebrows, but if overall goods inflation continues at this pace, it’s a green light for the Fed in the months ahead.” |
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That green light means traders now expect an extra quarter-point of cuts by the end of the year, with more than a 50% change of the fed-funds rate ending the year at 2.75% to 3%, down from a current 3.5% to 3.75% |
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Review & Preview will be off on Monday, with markets closed for Presidents Day. We’ll see you Tuesday evening. |
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Watch our TV show on Fox Business Fridays at 7:30 p.m. ET and Saturdays and Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. ET. This week, four software stocks that could prove to be resilient despite worries about AI disruption. Plus, why Mattel and Hasbro shares made dramatic moves in opposite directions. |
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| - | Last | Chg% |
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↑ Dow Jones Industrial Average | 49,500.93 | +0.10% | ↑ S&P 500 Index | 6,836.17 | +0.05% | ↓ NASDAQ Composite Index | 22,546.67 | -0.22% |
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2/13/2026, 8:00:21 PM ET |
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The Hot Stock: Coinbase Global +16.5% The Biggest Loser: Constellation Brands -8.0% |
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Best Sector: Utilities +2.7% Worst Sector: Communication Services -0.8% |
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This Weekend’s Magazine |
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PHOTOGRAPH BY JORDAN VONDERHAAR |
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The Calendar |
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Markets are closed Monday for Presidents Day. When trading resumes, investors will get a fair number of economic data releases, highlighted by the personal consumption expenditures price index on Friday from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. On Wednesday the Census Bureau releases the durable goods report and the Federal Open Market Committee releases the minutes of its last monetary-policy meeting. |
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Roughly 50 S&P 500 index companies are set to report next week. So far with 369 having reported, 77% have beaten earnings-per-shares estimate, while 73% have surpassed revenue expectations. |
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Cadence Design Systems and Palo Alto Networks report quarterly results on Tuesday followed by Analog Devices and Booking Holdings on Wednesday. Deere and Walmart release their earnings on Thursday. |
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What We’re Reading Today |
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Barron’s Live at returns on Monday, Feb. 23. Barron’s Live features timely and actionable insights for investors. We give you behind-the-scenes conversations with the newsroom, connecting you with our editors and reporters covering the markets, the economy, and more. |
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