The Trading Post | 02.23.26

February 23, 2026

Good morning,

The Dow ripped 500+ points while tech dragged, small caps extended their hot YTD run, Treasury yields climbed on hotter factory data, metals got smoked with gold down ~17% from its highs, and Trump’s rumored Fed pick Kevin Warsh stirred fresh rate-path uncertainty.

Let’s jump in.

Yesterday’s Post-Market Performance

As of 02.20.26 market close.

Market News

  • Dow surges 500+ while tech lags: Industrials and value names lead as volatility stays sticky into Fed crosscurrents. WSJ

  • Russell 2000 extends 6%+ YTD run: Small caps and cyclicals catch a bid as traders rotate out of crowded mega-cap tech. Reuters

  • Yields climb on hot factory data: Stronger data pressures growth names as rate-cut timing gets repriced. Reuters

  •  Metals slide hard: Silver gets smoked and gold is now ~17% off its highs, shaking out commodity bulls and miners. IG

  • Tech and industrials drag into the close: Policy uncertainty rises as Kevin Warsh chatter reopens the rate debate. Yahoo Finance

Earnings We’re Watching

  • Dominion Energy, Inc. (D) - Monday (BMO) 

  • Domino’s Pizza, Inc. (DPZ) - Monday (BMO) 

Trade Ideas

Autodesk, Inc. (ADSK), AMTEK, Inc (AME), Aon Corporation (AON), Celestica, Inc (CLS)

CME Group Inc. (CME), Cencora Inc (COR), CommVault Systems, Inc. (CVLT), Datadog, Inc. (DDOG)

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc (DKS), Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR), Estee Lauder Companies, Inc (EL),
Eaton Corporation (ETN)

Expedia, Inc (EXPE), First Solar, Inc. (FSLR), Insmed, Inc (INSM), Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (LOW)

3M Company (MMM), Marathon Petroleum Corporation (MPC), Cloudflare, Inc. (NET),
Rocket Lab USA Inc (RKLB)

Shopify Inc (SHOP), S&P 500 Bull 3X (SPXL), TE Connectivity Ltd (TEL), Tapestry, Inc. (TPR)

Veeva Systems, Inc (VEEV), Autodesk, Inc (ADSK), AMTEK, Inc (AME), Aon Corporation (AON)

Want to learn how we trade these? Learn the setup we call the “High Volatility Switchback” trade.

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Daily Moment of Zen

❝

Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.

Richard Branson

Why It Matters:

Failure in trading isn’t the exception. It’s the tuition.

The market does not care about your feelings, your thesis, or the three hours you spent drawing that “perfect” wedge pattern. It cares about liquidity and order flow. And sometimes it cares about neither and just chooses chaos.

The amateur feels embarrassment after a loss.
The professional feels data.

Embarrassment leads to revenge trades.
Data leads to adjustments.

If you’re embarrassed, you’re emotional.
If you’re analytical, you’re evolving.

The only real failure in trading isn’t a red day. It’s refusing to review it. Not journaling. Not identifying that you chased extended names. Not noticing you ignored rising yields. Not admitting you sized too big because you “felt good.”

Markets reset every morning. So can you.

Lose.
Review.
Adjust.
Execute again.

The traders who survive aren’t the ones who avoid failure.

They’re the ones who treat it like R&D.

And R&D is how you build an edge.