Retail Earnings, Fed Minutes Dominate Short Trading Week

It'll be a crucial week for the struggling retail sector, with a number of big companies set to report earnings, including Dow stocks Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT) and Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD). Also hitting the confessional during the week will be sector peers Macy's Inc (NYSE:M), Kohl's Corporation (NYSE:KSS), and Foot Locker, Inc. (NYSE:FL), among many others. Meanwhile, several biotech and restaurant stocks will be featured in the earnings spotlight, as will electric automaker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA). Things will be relatively slow on the economic front, but Wednesday features the release of the Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) latest meeting minutes.

Below is a brief list of some key market events scheduled for the upcoming week. All earnings dates listed below are tentative and subject to change. Please check with each company's respective website for official reporting dates.

Markets will be closed on Monday, Feb. 20, for Presidents Day. 

On Tuesday, Feb. 21, the Markit flash purchasing managers manufacturing index (PMI) will come out, and Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker will speak. Blue chips HD and WMT highlight the earnings slate, while Advance Auto Parts (AAP), Cracker Barrel (CBRL), EXACT Sciences (EXAS), First Solar (FSLR), La-Z-Boy (LZB), Lumber Liquidators (LL), M, Medtronic (MDT), Newmont Mining (NEM), Papa John's (PZZA), Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB), Sohu.com (SOHU), Texas Roadhouse (TXRH), and Whiting Petroleum (WLL) will also report.

Wednesday, Feb. 22, will feature the minutes from the Fed's most recent meeting, and existing home sales. Hitting the earnings stage are Boston Beer (SAM), Cheesecake Factory (CAKE), Clovis Oncology (CLVS), Ctrip.com (CTRP), DISH Network (DISH), Fitbit (FIT), Garmin (GRMN), HP (HPQ), L Brands (LB), Mobileye (MBLY), Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLKI), Six Flags (SIX), Southern (SO), Square (SQ), TSLA, TJX Companies (TJX), Toll Brothers (TOL), Transocean (RIG), and Weibo (WB). 

On top of weekly jobless claims, the slate for Thursday, Feb. 23, includes the weekly update on domestic crude inventories and a speech from Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart. Reporting earnings will be Acacia Communications (ACIA), Apache (APA), Baidu (BIDU), BioMarin Pharmaceuticals (BMRN), Chesapeake Energy (CHK), Denbury Resources (DNR), Gap (GPS), Herbalife (HLF), Hewlett Packard Enterprises (HPE), Hormel (HRL), IMAX (IMAX), Intuit (INTU), Kate Spade (KATE), KSS, LendingTree (TREE), Live Nation (LYV), Nordstrom (JWN), Splunk (SPLK), Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM), and Universal Display (OLED).  

New home sales come out on Friday, Feb. 24, as does the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey. Rounding out the week for earnings will be Cabot Oil & Gas (COG), Del Frisco's Restaurant (DFRG), FL, and J C Penney (JCP).