Overview of Key Economic Events and Corporate Reports for the Week of February 23 - March 1, 2026. EU Sanctions, New 15% Global Tariff in the U.S., CPI and PPI Inflation, Nvidia’s Earnings Season, Banks and IT Companies, OPEC+ Meeting. Analysis for Investors.
The week of February 23 - March 1, 2026, presents several drivers for global markets: trade restrictions and tariff policies from the U.S., the European Union's sanctions decisions against Russia, a block of data regarding inflation and business activity, and a dense corporate earnings season. For investors, the key question of the week is how quickly these trade measures and sanctions will begin to impact inflation, supply chains, company margins, and central bank rate expectations.
Special attention will be given to the technology sector and the artificial intelligence market (reports from Nvidia and cloud companies), the consumer segment (Home Depot, Lowe’s), the financial sector (major banks in North America), and the Russian market, where trading continues as usual. Geographically, the week is significant for the U.S., Europe, and Russia, while in Asia, the week begins with holidays in the region's largest economies.
Monday, February 23: Holidays in Asia, EU Sanctions, and Kickoff of Earnings Season
- China: Markets Closed (New Year).
- Japan: Markets Closed (Emperor’s Birthday).
- Europe and Russia: A decision is expected on the 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia (sectoral risks for commodities, logistics, insurance, payments, and compliance).
- Russia: Trading continues (Moscow Exchange and SPB Exchange) - increased sensitivity to sanctions headlines and currency dynamics.
- U.S.: Chicago Fed National Activity Index (January) - 16:30 MSK.
- U.S.: Factory Orders (December) - 18:00 MSK.
- ECB: Speech by ECB President Christine Lagarde - 20:30 MSK.
Corporate Earnings Reports (Focus of the Day)
- U.S. (Major/Notable Issuers): Domino’s Pizza, Keysight Technologies, Diamondback Energy, ONEOK, BWX Technologies, Hims & Hers, Freshpet, Axsome Therapeutics, Ovintiv.
- Market Commentary: The combination of reports in the consumer segment, defense/industry, and energy sets the tone for risk at the beginning of the week and shapes expectations ahead of the technology earnings peak.
What to Watch for Investors: The market's reaction to the EU's potential sanctions package and signals from Lagarde is more significant than individual macro publications. In stocks, assess whether the rotation between “quality growth” and cyclical sectors is intensifying amid trade risks and rate expectations.
Tuesday, February 24: U.S. Global 15% Tariff, China’s LPR, and Retail/Platform Earnings Reports
- U.S.: A new 15% global tariff on all countries goes into effect - risk of renewed inflation acceleration for goods, pressure on importers, and sectors with high foreign component shares.
- U.S.: Donald Trump’s speech before both chambers of Congress (annual State of the Union address and administration plans) - potential clarifications on trade and fiscal policy.
- China: LPR (Loan Prime Rate) - 04:15 MSK.
- U.S.: ADP Employment (weekly release) - 16:15 MSK.
- U.S.: S&P/Case-Shiller (December) - 17:00 MSK.
- Bank of England: Speech by Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey - 17:15 MSK.
- U.S.: Consumer Confidence (February) - 18:00 MSK.
- U.S.: Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index (February) - 18:00 MSK.
- ECB: Lagarde's Speech - 20:45 MSK.
- Oil (U.S.): API Inventories - 00:30 MSK.
Corporate Earnings Reports (All Key Public Companies of the Day)
- U.S.: Home Depot (an important consumer and housing renovation cycle indicator), AMC Entertainment, MercadoLibre (Latin America, e-commerce/fintech), Axon Enterprise, Workday, DigitalOcean.
- Canada: Preliminary focus on the financial sector ahead of the banking earnings block in the latter half of the week.
- Market Commentary: The combination of Home Depot and IT platforms (Workday) helps investors evaluate the resilience of household and corporate software spending amid tariff pressures.
What to Watch for Investors: U.S. trade policy and the tone of the congressional address could create momentum for the dollar, yields, and commodity prices. In earnings, compare margins and forecasts of companies most dependent on imports and logistics.
Wednesday, February 25: Australia’s Rate Decision, Eurozone CPI, and “Peak” of Technology Reports
- Australia: RBA rate decision - 03:30 MSK.
- Germany: GDP (Q4 2024) - 10:00 MSK.
- Eurozone: CPI (January) - 13:00 MSK.
- Oil (U.S.): EIA Inventories - 18:30 MSK.
- Russia: CPI (weekly estimate) - 19:00 MSK.
Corporate Earnings Reports (Largest Issuers of the Day)
- U.S.: Nvidia (a key benchmark for AI infrastructure demand), Salesforce, Lowe’s, TJX Companies, Snowflake, Synopsys, Agilent Technologies.
- Market Commentary: Nvidia's results and those of related companies in the “semiconductors → software/cloud → corporate budgets” chain can determine the dynamics of the technology sector and risk appetite in the global portfolio.
What to Watch for Investors: The link between Eurozone CPI and technology earnings reports in the U.S. may simultaneously influence rate expectations and growth multiples. In earnings, prioritize revenue forecasts, customer capital expenditures (capex), delivery times, and pricing policy comments.
Thursday, February 26: Geneva Negotiations, U.S. Jobless Claims, and a Strong Block of Banking/IT Reports
- Geneva: Possible U.S.-Iran negotiations (a risk factor for oil) and a negotiation agenda for Ukraine (geopolitical premium in commodity and currency markets).
- ECB: Lagarde's Speech - 11:30 MSK.
- Eurozone: Consumer Confidence (February) - 13:00 MSK.
- Eurozone: Consumer Inflation Expectations (February) - 13:00 MSK.
- U.S.: Initial Jobless Claims - 16:30 MSK.
- Gas (U.S.): EIA Inventories - 18:30 MSK.
- U.S.: KC Fed Manufacturing Index (February) - 19:00 MSK.
Corporate Earnings Reports (All Key Public Companies of the Day)
- U.S.: Dell Technologies, Intuit, Baidu, Warner Bros. Discovery, Zscaler, Duolingo, CoreWeave.
- Canada: Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.
- Russia: Sberbank (for MOEX investors — an important benchmark for banking margins, credit quality, and dividend expectations).
- Market Commentary: The combination of banks (credit cycle), cybersecurity (Zscaler), IT financial infrastructure (Intuit), and hardware (Dell) provides a broad overview of the state of corporate demand and income quality.
What to Watch for Investors: In the oil and gas markets - risk reaction to Geneva and weekly inventories. In earnings - banks critically monitor reserve dynamics and net interest margin, while IT focuses on customer retention, ARR/subscription growth, and acquisition costs.
Friday, February 27: GDP of Switzerland, India, and Canada, U.S. PPI and Final Macro Signals of the Week
- Switzerland: GDP (Q4 2025) - 11:00 MSK.
- Russia: Annual Government Report in the State Duma (fiscal priorities, government programs, impact on sectors and the OFZ market).
- India: GDP (Q4 2025) - 13:30 MSK.
- Canada: GDP (Q4 2025) - 16:30 MSK.
- U.S.: PPI (January) - 16:30 MSK.
- U.S.: Chicago PMI (February) - 17:45 MSK.
Corporate Earnings Reports (Focus of the Day)
- U.S./Global: Earnings reports continue across a wide range of issuers (especially in the energy sector, small/mid-cap companies, and cyclical firms), but the main "heavy hitters" of the week have already been disclosed in the reports from Tuesday to Thursday.
What to Watch for Investors: U.S. PPI is a key indicator of "input prices" for companies and potential pressure on consumer inflation. The combination of PPI and data on the GDP of Canada/India is important for assessing global demand and the “soft landing” scenario.
Saturday, February 28: Weekend Day and Reporting Guidelines
- Reporting Season: Individual companies may release results outside standard trading windows. Investors should check corporate releases for their portfolios and consider possible revisions of analysts' forecasts after the week's close.
- U.S.: Berkshire Hathaway (often releases results over the weekend) - an indicator of profit quality in insurance and investment portfolio.
Sunday, March 1: OPEC+ Meeting and Portfolio Adjustment for March
- OPEC+: Meeting - a potential driver for oil, inflation expectations, and currencies of commodity economies.
OPEC+ decisions are important not only for oil quotes but also for the trajectories of inflation and rate expectations in importing and exporting countries. For portfolios, this may influence allocations between energy, transportation, consumer sectors, and bonds.
Conclusion: Key Takeaways and Practical Guidelines for Investors
- Main Macro Risk of the Week - Strengthening U.S. trade barriers (15% tariff) and the EU sanctions agenda: both factors could quickly translate into inflationary pressure and revisions in rate expectations.
- Technology Focus - Nvidia's report and the group of cloud/software companies: the market will assess not only current figures but also the quality of forecasts, demand for AI infrastructure, and the resilience of corporate budgets.
- The Consumer and Housing - Home Depot and Lowe’s combined with the housing index and consumer confidence provide a practical picture of demand in the U.S.
- Financial Sector - The block of earnings from major North American banks and Sberbank is important for assessing the credit cycle, reserves, and net interest margin amid changing inflation.
- Commodities - U.S. oil/gas inventories and the OPEC+ meeting create a short-term corridor for oil, thus affecting inflation and the energy sector's shares.
During the week of February 23 - March 1, 2026, investors should keep a close eye on the link between “policy → inflation → rates → multiples”, and in earnings, focus on forecasts, margins, and management comments regarding tariffs, supply chains, and capital expenditures. This combination of factors will determine whether the market continues to support risk assets or shifts to a defensive allocation mode.
