We start off Friday with the three index slightly in the green. Next week is a big name earnings week.
I still "think" some of the semiconductor pull back yesterday was related to TSM. Some probably trimmed back a bit until one or two more companies report later. Those have been on quite a run YTD, so it makes some sense to me. There is also the "rebalancing" of the NASDAQ 100 taking effect on Monday. Maybe that too has caused some moving around in the NASDAQ as well. I am not overly surprised considering the epic run they have been on. Plus, these other sectors that have lagged a bit are starting to gain some steam and broaden out the rally. Upcoming earnings are going to tell the tale of each company as usual.
A few minutes to post some today. I will be fully back about this Sunday. Lessons From Real Estate Stocks’ Non-Bounce https://www.fisherinvestments.com/e...ry/lessons-from-real-estate-stocks-non-bounce (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "Markets have some things to say about popular fears. Eurozone stocks have rallied alongside US stocks since last autumn’s lows, and their participation in this global bull market is gaining notice—as is one eurozone sector’s notable absence from the party. Real estate stocks initially bounced alongside the rest of the region, but they have since slipped to new lows before mostly skidding sideways. Pundits seem divided on what will come next, which we don’t think is terribly consequential considering the sector is a sliver of the regional and global market. But we do think there are some interesting things to glean, particularly since the sector’s struggles aren’t confined to the eurozone. US real estate hasn’t floundered as badly as eurozone real estate, but it hasn’t done too well. As Exhibit 1 shows, while it fell more than the S&P 500 during the bear market, it hasn’t enjoyed the outsized rebound typical of the categories that get hit hardest in the downturn. Instead, it has spent long stretches going sideways and remains well behind the S&P 500 since last October’s lows. Exhibit 1: The Bounce Effect Skips Real Estate Source: FactSet, as of 7/18/2023. S&P 500 Index and S&P 500 Real Estate total returns, 1/3/2022 – 7/17/2023. Indexed to 100 at 1/3/2022. We see a couple of things going on here. One—which is a big headwind globally—is higher long-term interest rates. Because REITs are highly leveraged, their returns tend to be interest rate-sensitive. Higher rates mean higher financing costs, reducing profit margins. As Exhibit 2 shows, Real Estate and 10-year Treasury yields had a pretty strong inverse relationship as long rates rose last year and retested prior relative highs late this winter. But the correlation has flipped since the beginning of March, turning slightly positive—rates and Real Estate moved together a bit more often than not. To us, this suggests pretty strongly that stocks have priced in higher long rates. Therefore, hinging a stock market forecast on what you expect rates to do from here seems quite mistaken. Exhibit 2: Real Estate Stocks Are Getting Over Higher Rates Source: FactSet, as of 7/18/2023. S&P 500 Real Estate total return and 10-year US Treasury yield (constant maturity), 1/3/2022 – 7/17/2023. Real Estate returns indexed to 100 at 1/3/2022. A correlation of -1.0 means the two variables always move in opposite directions, 0.0 means no relationship, and 1.0 means they always move together. Two, commercial real estate is a big part of the REIT market, and commercial real estate happens to be one of investors’ biggest fears this year. Due to high office vacancies and regional banks’ large role in this space, refinancing worries hit commercial property hardest. The lethal combination of higher rates, tighter credit and falling rental income, headlines claim, will cause an office building bloodbath that risks rippling through bank balance sheets and the broader economy. Yet given Real Estate’s marked underperformance, it seems hard to argue markets are ignoring this talk, teeing up a surprise later. Rather, it pretty clearly appears to be weighing on sentiment, holding Real Estate stocks back even as long-term interest rates drift lower. Markets, it seems, are pricing in the fear. So ask yourself: If the broad market is up nicely while Real Estate is struggling amid commercial property angst, what are stocks trying to tell us? Could it be that commercial property might indeed have some refinancing troubles here and there but these aren’t likely to spill over to the broader economy and markets? To us, this is the most logical interpretation of the seeming disconnect. First principles, after all, hold that markets discount all widely known information, including fears, opinions and forecasts. If one sector is languishing while the broad market is up, it doesn’t make sense to argue the market is falsely ignoring a problem in that one sector. No, it usually means the broad market has assessed the impact and moved on. Quite rightly, in our view, considering the relatively small size of the commercial property market. Office REITs are just 0.07% of S&P 500 market capitalization. Regional banks’ balance sheet exposure is also quite small, as we showed in the spring. When in doubt, trust the market. If it is signaling that a widely discussed risk isn’t a market-wide problem, we think this is a strong indication that it is high time to get over the fear and move on." MY COMMENT The final BOLD area above is some good advice for any type of investing. The markets are a great DISCOUNTING mechanism. It is also great advice to.....TRUST THE MARKET. Investor FEAR is never a good thing.....or an accurate indicator of future performance.
Perhaps the story of the day. FTC backs down from legal challenge to Microsoft-Activision merger https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ftc-...to-microsoft-activision-merger-113327652.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "The Federal Trade Commission backed down from itsin-houselegal challenge to stop Xbox maker Microsoft (MSFT) from acquiring gaming developer Activision Blizzard (ATVI), a major win for the tech giant. The about-face for the FTC cleared another impediment to Microsoft's $69 billion agreement to acquire the “Call of Duty” franchise developer, leaving one final hurdle in the UK. The two companies recently set a new Oct. 18 deadline to close the deal, giving them more time to satisfy regulators. “The recent decision in the US and approvals in 40 countries all validate that the deal is good for competition, players, and the future of gaming,” a spokesperson for Activision Blizzard said Wednesday in an email to Yahoo Finance. “We’re confident in our next steps and that our deal will quickly close.” Activision Blizzard is the largest game publisher in North America. In addition to the hit “Call of Duty” franchise, the company also offers “World of Warcraft,” “Diablo,” and “Overwatch.” The firm also owns mobile game publisher King, the company behind “Candy Crush.” Adding those franchises to Microsoft’s existing titles, including “Halo” and “Forza,” would catapult Microsoft past Nintendo (NTDOY) to make the company the second-largest home console makerby revenue behind Sony (SONY). It would also put Microsoft behind Tencent and Sony as the third-largest gaming company by global revenue. FTC commissioners withdrew the agency's litigation in a document filed Thursday, pausing all proceedings before the agency's administrative law judge. The case was set for trial beginning Aug. 2. With the administrative case now withdrawn, Microsoft and Activision have no legal barrier in the US to closing their deal. However, the FTC could still ask Microsoft for additional concessions in exchange for an agreement not to sue in federal court. Microsoft and Activision had pressed the FTC to drop the case in a joint motion filed Tuesday, after the regulator's legal campaign was significantly weakened by a US appellate court. That appellate court had denied the agency's request to pause the merger, technically clearing the way for the companies to close in the US. The FTC appealed that ruling. Microsoft has spent roughly 10 months negotiating with domestic and overseas antitrust regulators to calm fears that the tie-up would threaten competition in various gaming markets. The company was originally set to finalize its purchase of the "Call of Duty" maker on July 18, but the regulatory actions in the UK and US slowed the ability to get the deal done. Under the terms of a revised agreement, a prior $3 billion breakup fee increases to $3.5 billion if Microsoft fails to close the purchase by Aug. 29, and $4.5 billion if it can't get it done by Sept. 15. The last hurdle is now in the UK. After initially blocking the merger over concerns that Microsoft would gain too much market dominance in cloud gaming, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) agreed to reopen negotiations with the tech giant. A London court then paused Microsoft’s appeal of the regulator’s initial decision. One recent concession to regulatory concerns was that Microsoft promised to make Activision’s widely popular “Call of Duty” franchise available for 10 years to rival gaming console maker Sony, in addition to earlier agreements with Nvidia and Nintendo. Those earlier agreements to make the game available to Nintendo and Nvidia weren't enough to persuade UK regulators that Microsoft's concessions were sufficient. The regulator expressed worries that the merger would nonetheless give Microsoft too much dominance in cloud gaming. The FTC for its part said the acquisition could harm consumers not only in cloud gaming, but also gaming subscription services and gaming consoles." MY COMMENT This is looking good for MSFT and their shareholders. I see this as a.......probability now. Another little profit center to add to the company line-up.
So far the markets seem to be picking up a little steam today.....so far. Friday will be an active day on Wall Street with a major index overhaul and options expiration https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/21/sto...h-due-to-index-revamp-options-expiration.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "Two structural shifts for Wall Street on Friday could cause a spike in stock market volatility on the final trading day of the week. One notable event is the expiration of thousands of options contracts on stocks, indexes and exchange-traded funds. While trading volumes have been light in July, options exposure is still strong relative to past summers, according to Goldman Sachs. “We estimate that this Friday will be the largest July-options-expiration on record driven by continued growth in index and ETF options volumes. We estimate that over $2.3 trillion of notional options exposure will expire this Friday including $500 billion notional of single stock options,” John Marshall, head of derivatives research at Goldman, said in a note to clients Thursday. With the options set to expire, trading volumes typically jump as investors execute the contracts to collect their profits, or roll them over to the next month. The other major change is a special rebalance of the Nasdaq 100 Index which takes effect at the start of trading on Monday. A rally in the largest Big Tech stocks this year, such as Microsoft and Nvidia, has caused concern that the stock market is too concentrated in just a handful of names. The Nasdaq 100 rebalance will dilute the impact of the largest stocks in the index. While Nasdaq has not publicly released the changes, a note from Goldman Sachs earlier this week said that Nvidia and Microsoft would see the biggest downward change to their weightings, while Broadcom would get the largest boost. The changes could force index funds and other investment products benchmarked to the Nasdaq 100 to adjust their holdings. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq 100, manages more than $200 billion in assets." MY COMMENT This "stuff" might cause some volatility today.....but for the long term investor is in not that relevant. Traders could love it.
One last little article for now. Here’s how making poor investment choices is like watching classic thriller ‘Jaws’ https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/21/rec...nd-why-it-causes-poor-investment-choices.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "Key Points “Recency bias” is a behavioral finance principle that can cost investors money. It causes people to rely on recent events — like a steep drop in the stock market — when making future choices. The psychological impulse is normal but can be harmful. Investors often buy high and sell low as a result, according to finance experts. Investors can get swept away by the fear or euphoria of the recent past — and it often costs them financially. “Recency bias” is the tendency to put too much emphasis on recent events, like a stock-market rout or the meteoric rise of bitcoin or a meme stock like GameStop, for example. Investor choices are guided by these short-term events — which may be counter to their best interests, as is often the case when selling stocks in a panic. Recency bias is akin to a common yet illogical human impulse, such as watching Steven Spielberg’s classic summer blockbuster “Jaws,” a 1975 thriller about a Great White shark whose diet revolves more around humans than marine life, and then being afraid of the water. “Would you want to go for a long ocean swim after watching ‘Jaws’? Probably not, even though the actual risk of being attacked by a shark is infinitesimally small,” wrote Omar Aguilar, CEO and chief investment officer at Schwab Asset Management. Recency bias is normal, but can be costly Here’s a recent real-world illustration: The financial services sector was among the top performers of the S&P 500 Index in 2019, when it yielded a 32% annual return. Investors who chased that performance and subsequently bought a bunch of financial services stocks “may have been disappointed” when the sector’s returns fell by 2% in 2020 — a year when the S&P 500 had a positive 18% return, Aguilar said. Among other examples posed by financial experts: tilting a portfolio more heavily toward U.S. stocks after a string of underwhelming performance in international stocks, and overreliance on a mutual fund’s recent performance history to guide a buying decision. “Short-term market moves caused by recency bias can sap long-term results, making it more difficult for clients to reach their financial goals,” he said. The concept generally boils down to fear of loss or a “fear of missing out” — or, FOMO — based on market behavior, said Charlie Fitzgerald III, an Orlando, Florida-based certified financial planner. Acting on that impulse is akin to timing the investment markets, which is never a good idea; it often leads to buying high and selling low, he said. “People need to understand that recency bias is normal, and it’s hard-wired,” said Fitzgerald, a principal and founding member of Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo. “It’s a survival instinct.” The psychology behind the retail trading frenzy fueling GameStop, Robinhood It’s like a bee sting, he said. “If I get stung by a bee once or twice, I’m not going to go there again,” Fitzgerald said. “The recent experience can override all logic.” Investors are most vulnerable to recency bias, he said, when on the precipice of a major life change like retirement, when market gyrations may seem especially scary. How to assemble a well-diversified portfolio Long-term investors with a well-diversified portfolio can feel confident about riding out a storm instead of panic-selling, however. Such a portfolio generally has broad exposure to the equity markets, via large-, mid- and small-cap stocks, as well as foreign stocks and maybe real estate, Fitzgerald said. It also holds short- and intermediate-term bonds, and maybe a sliver of cash, he added. Investors can get this broad market exposure by buying various low-cost index mutual funds or exchange-traded funds that track these segments. Or, investors can buy an all-in-one fund, like a target-date fund or balanced fund. One’s asset allocation — the share of stock and bond holdings — is generally guided by principles like investment horizon, tolerance for risk and ability to take risk, Fitzgerald said. For example, a young investor with three decades to retirement would likely hold at least 80% to 90% in stocks." MY COMMENT This is typical hard wired investor behavior. Difficult to avoid....unless you are a long term investor. In the end it is all about the ENTIRE PORTFOLIO.....not chasing a single stock. This might apply to the current NVIDIA situation. Although I believe in the strong future of the stock......I am sure there will be much......"chasing".......... of this stock.
Speaking of CHASING returns.......the poster child for this is Cathy Wood and her funds. She had one great year during the pandemic and has been riding that year ever since. She is uniformly described as a STAR STOCK PICKER in the media. SO....lets look at the FACTS for her main fund AARK. One year total return (-0.75%) Three year total return (-16.48%) Five year total return +1.49% https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/ARKK/performance?p=ARKK NOW.....lets look at the SP500. One year return +14.85% Three year return +41.45% Five year return +62.34% The choice is clear to me as a long term investor. BUT......"YOU"....have to decide for yourself.
Speaking of Cathie Wood. Cathie Wood says her flagship innovation fund has completely exited China https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/21/cat...ovation-fund-has-completely-exited-china.html "Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood said her flagship innovation fund has reduced its China exposure to zero as the developing market faces an economic slowdown. The tech investor revealed that her ARK Innovation ETF, with nearly $9 billion assets under management, has exited the stocks that generate revenue from China as she consolidated her portfolio towards her favorite bets like Tesla, Coinbase, Roku and Zoom in the market downturn." MY COMMENT See article for more. I personally prefer to have ZERO exposure to companies that are controlled by and at the mercy of the.....worlds most brutal communist dictatorship.
The SP 500 and the DOW managed to close in the green by a sliver of hope. The NASDAQ a bit in the red. Overall, I ended the week decent and today somehow managed green across the board. I”ll take what I can get. As mentioned earlier, next week will be some big earnings reports due. Looking forward to it.
Some of the earnings have been pretty decent so far. We are just getting ready to crank it up though over the coming weeks. Last figure I seen was around 75% are above expectations so far, but we are only about 18% into the SP 500. So, quite a bit left to go. We have the earnings and the FED on tap next week. I could do without the FED noise myself, but I am sure it will take up a ton of air time.
YES......I saw that 75% figure........(earnings above expectations)....... the other day. Of course the writer was not mentioning it as a positive. They were claiming that a normal year would be 80%
Not a bad job with the markets last week. Good going. I know I made some money but I never looked at my specific account all week. I was aware of what my stocks were doing each day......but have still not checked the account.
We are seeing ANOTHER strong day in the markets today. Can you believe it.......the DOW is now nearly back up to 36,000. The only cliff hanger today was the NASDAQ.......it is up but trying to decide on a direction for the day. No doubt.....there is skittishness and anticipation over the BIG TECH earnings this week. I believe that MSFT reports (edited: Tuesday) and GOOGL on Tuesday. ALSO......AAPL and AMZN ......(edited: next week)......unless the dates have changed since i noted them about a month ago. Anyway.....LOOKING GOOD.......as is the norm lately now that we are in a BULL MARKET.
The day today. Stocks open higher with Big Tech earnings, Fed decision in focus https://finance.yahoo.com/news/stoc...-focus-stock-market-news-today-103518472.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) "Stocks rose on Monday, as investors bided their time waiting for a crucial week of earnings to kick off and for a key policy decision from the Federal Reserve. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the way higher, moving up almost 0.5%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) added around 0.4%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) gained nearly 0.3%, or over 80 points, after eking out its 10th win in a row on Friday. Earnings season moves into high gear this week, with over 150 companies on the S&P 500 on the docket. Eyes are on Big Techs results from Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Meta (META), given the Nasdaq was dragged down by second quarter reports from Tesla (TSLA) and Netflix (NFLX) last week. Investors are also bracing for the Fed's interest rate decision at the end of its policymaker meeting on Wednesday, widely expected to deliver a hike. The question on minds is whether the central bank stays hawkish and signals more raises are likely, and what that means for the odds of the US economy avoiding a recession. MY COMMENT Thats about it.....just another boring bull market day during earnings season and with an impending FED announcement. I expect that the earnings this week will be good.....and as to the FED.........no one cares.
I guess this is the up to date info on earnings this week. Fed decision, Big Tech earnings highlight the busiest week of the summer https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fed-...the-busiest-week-of-the-summer-120014732.html (BOLD is my opinion OR what I consider important content) The busiest week of the summer on Wall Street has arrived. "More than 150 S&P 500 companies are set to report quarterly results in the week ahead, headlined by Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), and Meta (META). Amid this earnings rush, the Federal Reserve will announce its latest policy decision on Wednesday afternoon and is expected to announce another 0.25% increase in its benchmark interest rate. The economic calendar will also keep investors busy with the first read on second quarter GDP, two looks at consumer confidence, inflation data, and an initial look at manufacturing activity in July all on the schedule. This headline blitz will follow a week that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) take on a leadership role in the market, with the Blue Chip index rising 2.1% during the week and finishing a 10th straight winning session on Friday. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) served as the week's laggard, falling 0.6%. The benchmark S&P 500 split the difference, rising 0.7%. The Nasdaq was dragged down by results from Netflix (NFLX) and Tesla (TSLA) that prompted investors to pare their exposure to two of this year's tech highfliers. Whether this pattern continues to play out during earnings season will be one of this week's key storylines for investors. End of the Fed hikes? The US central bank will announce its latest monetary policy decision at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday with Fed Chair Jay Powell set to hold a press conference a half hour later. Data from the CME Group on Friday showed markets pricing in a 99.8% chance the Fed raises its benchmark interest rate target range by another 0.25% to 5.25%-5.5%. This would bring the fed funds rate to its highest level since 2001. "After remaining on hold at its June FOMC meeting, we look for the Fed to raise the target range for the Federal funds rate by 25bp to 5.25-5.50%," Bank of America economist Michael Gapen wrote in a note on July 19. "The cooling of the economy is only happening slowly, and we think most committee members believe further rebalancing of supply and demand is needed to ensure disinflation will continue." Powell's comments will be in focus for investors as the debate is sure to continue through the summer over whether an additional rate increase later this year will be necessary. "In the press conference, we look for Chair Powell to provide more clarity on what markers the Committee would need to see to be comfortable moving into an extended hold," Morgan Stanley's chief US economist Ellen Zentner wrote in a note on Thursday. "For example ... Governor Waller expressed that if the next two readings on core inflation 'look like the last two, the data would suggest maybe stopping.' A similar message from Powell would suggest to us a lengthy hold is in store." Earnings rush On the corporate side, Microsoft and Alphabet are set to report earnings on Tuesday after the market closes. On Wednesday, Meta and Chipotle (CMG) will highlight the schedule. Investors will also keep a close eye on results from Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T) — due out Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively — with these companies set to report for the first time since an early July report from The Wall Street Journal about lead-sheathed cables laid by telecom giants sent those stocks sharply lower. Big tech earnings should provide investors with a fresh update on the latest in artificial intelligence and the state of the cloud industry. As recently as last week, AI headlines were still pushing stocks higher. Apple (AAPL) shares popped nearly 1% after a report the tech giant may be building its own form of ChatGPT. Meanwhile, Microsoft stock jumped after the company announced a $30-per-month AI-related integration that will be tied to Microsoft 365. Some analysts think that catalyst could be enough to counteract any slowdown in growth that might still be occurring with the company's cloud unit, Azure. Speaking with Yahoo Finance Live last week, Independent Solutions Wealth Management portfolio manager Paul Meeks said last quarter, companies had a simple message on AI-related initiatives: "I'm doing it." This quarter will be a different story. "Now what I need to see are some tangible benefits that are going to positively impact these companies' P&L," Meeks said. "What are they doing specifically? How are they going to monetize it? And when they monetize it, when do we start to see the goodies? "Because everybody can talk the marketing spin, but I need to see some tangible impacts on the P&L. You better give it that to me. At least guide to it for the next couple of quarters, because I'm going to start to believe that it's all smoke." The coming week will also provide more data on the health of the consumer, with results from McDonald's (MCD), Domino's (DPZ), and Chipotle being closely watched for signs of trade downs or pullbacks in spending. Last week, earnings from big banks and airlines largely showed a consumer that's still willing to spend, a bullish sign not just for these companies but the overall economy as the US continues to fight off a recession. Still, companies are reporting earnings declines. After reports from 18% of the companies in the S&P 500, 75% have reported earnings per share above estimates, below the five-year average of 78%, per FactSet. Meanwhile, 61% of companies have reported revenues above estimates, below the five-year average of 69% and the 10-year average of 63%. Entering the crucial earnings week, the stock market rally has notably broadened. After much was made about the 'Magnificent Seven' driving the S&P 500 higher this year, Energy (XLE) and Health Care (XLV) closed out last week with four straight days of gains. "Profit cycle is what matters for Value/cyclicals vs. Growth," Bank of America strategist Savita Subramanian wrote on Friday. "We expect 2Q to be the trough in EPS, a catalyst for cyclicals." Weekly Calendar Monday Economic data: S&P Global US manufacturing PMI, July, preliminary (46.1 expected, 46.3 previously); S&P Global US services PMI, July, preliminary (54.0 expected, 54.4 previously); S&P Global US composite PMI, July, preliminary (53.0 expected, 53.2 previously) Earnings: Domino's Pizza (DPZ), Logitech (LOGI), RyanAir (RYAAY) Tuesday Economic data: Conference Board Consumer Confidence, July (112 expected, 109.7 previously); S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller, 20-City composite home price index, month-over-month, July (+0.7% expected, +0.91% previously); S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City composite home price index, year-over-year, July (-1.6% expected, -1.7% previously) Earnings: Alphabet (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT), Cal-Maine Foods (CALM), General Electric (GE), General Motors (GM), Raytheon Technologies (RTX), Pac Western Bank (PACW), Snap (SNAP), Spotify (SPOT), Texas Instruments (TXN), Verizon (VZ), Visa (V), 3M Company (MMM) Wednesday Economic data: New home sales, June (722,000 annualized rate expected, 763,000 previously); New home sales, month-over-month, June (-5.4% expected, +12.2% previously); MBA Mortgage Applications, week ending July 21 (+1.1% prior); FOMC Rate Decision, upper bound (5.5% expected, 5.25% previously); FOMC Rate Decision, lower bound (5.25% expected, 5% previously) Earnings: Meta Platforms (META),AT&T(T), ADP (ADP), Boeing (BA), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Coca-Cola (KO), eBay (EBAY), Hilton (HLT), Mattel (MAT), Union Pacific (UNP) Thursday Economic data: Second quarter GDP, first estimate (+1.7% annualized rate expected, +2.0% previously); First quarter personal consumption, first estimate (+1.2% expected, +4.2% previously); Initial jobless claims, week ended July 22 (235,000 expected, 228,000 previously); Continuing jobless claims, week ended, July 15 (1.75 million expected, 1.75 million previously); Pending home sales, month-over-month, June (-0.5% expected, -2.7% previously) Earnings: Crocs(CROX), Ford (F), Intel (INTC), Honeywell (HON), Valero (VLO), Mastercard (MA), McDonald's (MCD), Roku (ROKU), Southwest (LUV), T-Mobile (TMUS) Friday Economic data: Personal income, month-over-month, June (+0.5% expected, +0.4% previously); Personal spending, month-over-month, June (+0.4% expected, +0.1% previously); PCE inflation, month-over-month, June (+0.2% expected, +0.1% previously); PCE inflation, year-over-year, June (+3.0% expected, +3.8% previously); "Core" PCE, month-over-month, June (+0.2% expected, +0.3% previously); "Core" PCE, year-over-year, June (+4.2% expected; +4.6% previously); University of Michigan consumer sentiment, July, final reading (72.6 expected, 72.6 previously) Earnings: Exxon Mobile (XOM), Procter & Gamble (PG), Chevron (CVX), Charter Communications (CHTR), AstraZeneca (AZN)" MY COMMENT Lots of big company earnings in the list above. If we can put together a nice 75% to 80% earnings season beat.....we could see a good old fashioned summer rally kick off in August. Thinking back....August seems like it is often a good summer rally month. We are CERTAINLY having a very good........and abnormal year........ this year. Various averages are nicely above their historic average.
Good update of the earnings dates Smokie. I noted the dates that I had on my calendar about a month or so ago. That long out it is a pretty good chance that the date will change.
