The U.S. stock market may get off to a tentative start this morning, as investors enter the last trading week of the second quarter. In the days ahead, we will receive an important inflation reading, as well as a small batch of corporate profit reports. As we were publishing this update, the S&P 500 Index futures were struggling to stay in positive territory in pre-market trading.
In economic news, there will be no notable reports released today. However, tomorrow the Consumer Confidence Index for the month of June will be published. This report will be of importance, as many investors are starting to worry that the consumer is utilizing too much credit and is showing signs of stress. On Wednesday, the latest monthly new home sales figures will be released, followed by the pending home sales numbers on Thursday. Meanwhile, this week’s main event will take place on Friday morning when the PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) Price Index will be released. Analysts currently expect the numbers to show that prices rose 2.6% during the month of May, on a year-over-year basis. This item will be closely tracked by the Federal Reserve, which continues to look for the inflation rate to retreat to the 2% mark. At its latest meeting, the Fed indicated that it expects to cut interest rates just once later this year. However, some analysts think that the central bank may be overly cautious in its outlook, and will take action if the economy shows signs of fatigue. It should be noted that numerous Federal Reserve officials will be delivering speeches this week. These remarks will be carefully followed by traders and can cause some market volatility.
Investors are set to receive a handful of corporate earnings reports over the next few days. Specifically, we will hear from FedEx (FDX), a leading package transportation provider, Micron Technology (MU), a notable semiconductor manufacturer, and Nike (NKE), an athletic footwear giant. In addition, we will receive a report from Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), which is one of the nation’s biggest pharmacy retailers.
Technically, the stock market continues to extend its gains. Traders remain concerned that a few major technology stocks are dominating the market. Instead, they would like to see broader sector participation. However, it should be noted that the technology issues have been displaying leadership for over a year, and may continue to push the market higher. – 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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