Mr. Powell Goes to Washington; Drug, Retail Earnings on Deck

Headlining another busy week is new Fed Chair Jerome Powell's first appearance before Congress. In addition, fellow central bankers James Bullard and William Dudley are slated to speak throughout the week. Another slew of earnings is also expected, with Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) leading a list of drugmakers set to report, and retailers including J. C. Penney (JCP), Foot Locker (FL), and Macy's (M) also due in the earnings confessional.

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.

Monday, Feb. 26, kicks off a busy week with a speech from St. Louis Fed James Bullard, alongside a new home sales data. Earnings are expected from Corelogic (CLGX), Dean Foods (DF), Eagle Pharmaceuticals (EGRX), Fitbit (FIT), Nutrisystem (NTRI), Palo Alto Networks (PANW), and Tenet Healthcare (THC).

On Tuesday, Feb. 27*, Powell will give his first testimony to the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, D.C. Also on the day's agenda are durable goods orders, international trade data, the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index, and the latest consumer confidence report. AutoZone (AZO), Booking Holdings (PCLN) -- formerly Priceline, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX), Broadcom (AVGO), Community Health Systems (CYH), Etsy (ETSY), Hertz Global (HTZ), Live Nation Entertainment (LYV), Lumber Liquidators (LL), Macy's, Papa John's (PZZA), Steven Madden (SHOO), Square (SQ), Toll Brothers (TOL), and Weight Watchers International (WTW) are slated to report.

Kicking off Wednesday, Feb. 28 is the latest gross domestic product (GDP) reading, Chicago's purchasing managers index (PMI), pending home sales, and the weekly crude inventories report. Earnings names set to share include 3D Systems (DDD), Chico's (CHS), Crocs (CROX), Horizon Pharma (HZNP), L Brands (LB), Lowe's (LOW), Merrimack Pharmaceuticals (MACK), Monster Beverage (MNST), Mylan (MYL), Office Depot (ODP), Salesforce.com (CRM), TJX Companies (TJX), and Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX).

On Thursday, March 1, Powell will appear before the Senate Banking Committee, New York Fed President William Dudley will give a speech, and traders will digest data on motor vehicle sales, weekly jobless claims, manufacturing activity, personal income and outlays, and construction spending. On the earnings front, Ambarella (AMBA), American Outdoor Brands (AOBC), AMC Entertainment (AMC), Barnes & Noble (BKS), Best Buy (BBY), Gap (GPS), Kohl's (KSS), Nordstrom (JWN), Splunk (SPLK), Southwestern Energy (SWN), and VMware (VMW) will make an appearance.

Friday, March 2, is a relatively light day for earnings and economic news, with the consumer sentiment report and earnings from Big Lots (BIG), Foot Locker (FL), J. C. Penney (JCP), JD.com (JD), and Olympic Steel (ZEUS) expected.