The U.S. stock market may get off to a muted start at the opening bell this morning, as investors prepare for a shortened trading week. Note, the equity market will be closed on Wednesday in observance of Juneteenth National Independence Day. Last week, stocks managed to make some progress, as a better-than-anticipated CPI (Consumer Price Index) report had traders hoping that the Federal Reserve might soon be able to lower interest rates. It remains to be seen if recent gains can be extended this week. As we were writing this report, the S&P 500 Index futures were slightly below the neutral line in early morning trading.
Today should be relatively quiet, as there are few notable economic reports scheduled. Tomorrow, the U.S. retail sales numbers for the month of May will be published. Here, many investors will be looking to see how the consumer is faring, given that credit card utilization remains high and the elevated interest rates continue to present challenges. Also tomorrow, a number of Federal Reserve officials will be making speeches at various gatherings. Wall Street will most likely be paying close attention to these presentations. Later in the week, we will get a look at the latest jobless claims data. Housing starts and building permits for the month of May will also be reported.
On the corporate front, a couple of leading home builders are slated to post their results over the next few days. Today, we will hear from Lennar (LEN), and tomorrow KB Home (KBH) will weigh in with its numbers. Later in the week, we receive reports from The Kroger Company (KR), a leading grocery store operator, and CarMax (KMX), a retailer of used vehicles.
Technically, the stock market continues to display progress. The S&P 500 Index, which is ahead about 15% so far this year, is sitting near record-high ground. The technology-heavy NASDAQ is also putting in an impressive performance. However, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is starting to lag the pack. As a result, many investors are beginning to worry that the current rally may not be broad enough. From a sector perspective, the technology stocks continue to show leadership, driven by the excitement surrounding AI (artificial intelligence) applications. In contrast, other equity groups are not fully participating and may even be losing ground. This development should be monitored, as it suggests that the market rally is somewhat fragile. – 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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