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Weekend Update & Market Outlook 3/1/26

Weekend Update & Market Outlook 3/1/26

March 1, 2026

Market Action For Last Week

(Fri Feb 20, 2026 close → Fri Feb 27, 2026 close)

  • SPY: 689.43 → 685.99 = -3.44 pts (-0.50%)
  • QQQ: 608.81 → 607.29 = -1.52 pts (-0.25%)
  • IWM: 264.61 → 261.41 = -3.20 pts (-1.21%)

How I got this: I pulled the official daily close for each ETF from the same source (StockAnalysis history pages) for Feb 20 and Feb 27, then computed point and percent change from those closes.

Upcoming Major Economic Reports and Potential Market Moving Events

(Week of Mar 2–Mar 6, 2026)

Mon (Mar 2)

  • S&P final U.S. Manufacturing PMI (Feb)
  • ISM Manufacturing (Feb)
  • Auto sales (Feb)

Tue (Mar 3)

  • (Watchlist) Labor-market and demand read-through day (typical focus: job openings / factory pipeline).

Wed (Mar 4)

  • ADP Employment Report (Feb)
  • ISM Services / Non-Manufacturing (Feb)
  • Fed Beige Book

Thu (Mar 5)

  • Initial Jobless Claims
  • Productivity (4Q, prelim)
  • Trade Price Indices (Jan)

Fri (Mar 6)

  • U.S. Employment Report (Nonfarm Payrolls) (Feb)

How I got this: I cross-referenced a major weekly U.S. calendar (MarketWatch) for Monday and a dated March-2026 release list (Scotiabank) for Wed–Fri, plus Investing.com event pages for the biggest “market-mover” items (NFP, claims, Beige Book).

Upcoming Major Stock Earnings Reports

(Week of Mar 2–Mar 6, 2026)

Mon (Mar 2)

  • MongoDB (MDB) — Postmarket (after close; earnings call 5:00pm ET)

Tue (Mar 3)

  • Target (TGT) — Premarket (before open; ~7:00am ET)
  • Best Buy (BBY) — Premarket (earnings call 8:00am ET)
  • CrowdStrike (CRWD) — Postmarket (after close; call 5:00pm ET)

Wed (Mar 4)

  • Broadcom (AVGO) — Postmarket (after close)

Thu (Mar 5)

  • Costco (COST) — Postmarket (after close; earnings call 2:00pm PT)

How I got this: I used Investing.com for the earnings dates (plus the Investing earnings calendar view for the week), then relied on company/press-release scheduling or IR event pages for whether it’s premarket vs postmarket when available.

30-day market stance: Neutral (lean bearish). Last week’s tape was risk-off with small caps (IWM) leading the downside, and the next week has a high-impact macro catalyst (jobs report on Mar 6) plus big “read-through” earnings (retail + cybersecurity + semis) that can amplify volatility and gap risk. If the labor data re-accelerates wage/inflation fears, it can pressure rates and multiples; if it cools meaningfully, it can support a relief bid—but until that’s resolved, the cleaner posture is neutral with respect for downside tails.

Practical action plan (immediate):

  1. Treat Wed–Fri (Mar 4–6) as the key window: size smaller and expect gaps (earnings + jobs).
  2. Watch IWM relative strength vs SPY/QQQ: if small caps keep lagging, risk appetite is still suspect.
  3. If you trade options, consider defined-risk structures into the jobs print (spreads > naked premium) because the outcome is binary.

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