Monday, February 23, 2026

Stocks Lower into Final Hour on US Global Tariff Uncertainty, AI Industry Disruption Worries, Crypto Plunge, Tech/Financial Sector Weakness

Economic/Market Gauges:

  • North American Investment Grade CDS Index 52.6 +2.3%
  • Bloomberg US Securitized MBS/ABS/CMBS Avg. OAS .22 +3.0 basis points
  • BofA Global Financial Stress Indicator -.04 +8.0 basis points
  • European Financial Sector CDS Index 54.8 -1.3%
  • Emerging Market CDS Index 128.7 +1.0%
  • Bloomberg Global Trade Policy Uncertainty Index 2.1 +.6
  • Citi US Economic Surprise Index 27.4 +1.7 points
  • Citi Eurozone Economic Surprise Index 33.3 +.2 point
  • Citi Emerging Markets Economic Surprise Index 31.1 +2.6 points
  • S&P 500 Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(427 of 500 reporting) +12.4% +.1 percentage point
  • S&P 500 Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 320.27 +.78:  Growth Rate +19.0% +.3 percentage point, P/E 21.4 -.2
  • S&P 500 Current Year Estimated Profit Margin 12.49% +1.0 basis point
  • NYSE FANG+ Current Quarter EPS Growth Rate YoY(7 of 10 reporting) +19.1% unch.
  • NYSE FANG+ Blended Forward 12 Months Mean EPS Estimate 507.37 +1.70: Growth Rate +23.5% +.4 percentage point, P/E 27.9 -.5
  • Bloomberg US Financial Conditions Index .65 +3.0 basis points
  • US Yield Curve 58.75 basis points (2s/10s) -1.75 basis points 
  • Bloomberg Industrial Metal Index 167.8 -.7% 
  • US Recession Within 6 Months Probability(3M/18M Forward Yld Curve Spread) 30.2% -.3 percentage point
  • US Atlanta Fed GDPNow Q1 Forecast +3.1% +10.0 basis points
  • US 10-Year T-Note Yield 4.03% -6.0 basis points
  • 1-Year TIPS Spread 3.58 +1.0 basis point
  • Highest target rate probability for April 29th FOMC meeting: 82.1% (-.4 percentage point) chance of 3.5%-3.75%. Highest target rate probability for June 17th meeting: 46.7%(+1.1 percentage points) chance of 3.25%-3.5%. (current target rate is 3.5-3.75%)
Overseas Futures:
  • Nikkei 225 Futures: Indicating -55 open in Japan 
  • China A50 Futures: Indicating +118 open in China
  • DAX Futures: Indicating +42 open in Germany
Portfolio:
  • Slightly Lower: On losses in my tech/industrial/transport/consumer discretionary sector longs
  • Disclosed Trades: Added to my (IWM)/(QQQ) hedges
  • Market Exposure: 50% Net Long

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