The U.S. stock market may get off to a constructive start today, as a new week on Wall Street commences. Of note, the markets across Europe have been moving higher, and the S&P 500 Index futures have been edging up slightly in early morning trading. In the days ahead, the focus will be on corporate profits and the nation’s ongoing battle with inflation.
Today should be relatively quiet, as there are no major economic items scheduled. However, tomorrow the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of January will be published. Analysts currently expect that consumer prices rose 6.2% during the month (year over year), which would represent continued progress. For perspective, the CPI registered a sizable 9% advance last June, and has been steadily moving down from that peak level. We think this month’s inflation report will be of some importance. For one, the Federal Reserve just acknowledged that inflation has started to ease, and will likely want to see the price trend continue to move lower. In addition, investors have been speculating that the central bank may soon stop hiking interest rates, and they, too, will be paying attention to the news. On Thursday, the Producer Price Index (PPI), which provides a look at prices on the wholesale level, will be published.
In the corporate arena, approximately 70% of the companies in the S&P 500 Index have delivered their fourth-quarter results. Many of these corporations have posted weak profit comparisons against last year, and have tempered their guidance. For the most part, investors have taken the news in stride, and seem willing to look to the future. Perhaps, traders are more hopeful that a recession can be avoided and expect the corporate landscape to improve in the second half of 2023. Today, we get a look at reports from Check Point Software (CHKP) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS). These companies are relatively important technology issues, and these releases may command some attention. Later in the week, we will hear from a few industry leaders, including Coca-Cola (KO), Cisco Systems (CSCO), and John Deere (DE).
From a technical perspective, the S&P 500 Index has pulled back over the past several sessions, which is understandable given the progress achieved since the start of 2023. While further consolidation may be in order, the stock market generally seems to be performing better. We certainly are seeing broader participation across the various market sectors, with notable gains in the technology group. – Adam Rosner
At the time of this article’s writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.
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