The U.S. stock market may get off to a somewhat constructive start this morning, as a new week on Wall Street begins. As we were writing this report, the S&P 500 Index futures were situated just above the neutral line in early morning trading. In the days ahead, the nation’s battle with inflation will take the spotlight. Corporate profits will also be an area of focus for investors.
In economic news, few major reports will be released today and tomorrow. However, a couple of prominent Federal Reserve officials will be making speeches, and Wall Street will be paying close attention to these presentations. Later in the week, some key inflation data will be reported. On Wednesday, the CPI (Consumer Price Index) for the month of June will be published. This report is expected to that show that prices rose roughly 3.0% for the month, on a year-over-year basis. On Thursday, the PPI (Producer Price Index) will follow. Inflation has started to ease lately, which is a positive development, though prices will likely remain too elevated to satisfy the Fed. At this point, most investors think that the central bank will approve another small interest rate hike at its next meeting.
In corporate news, the second-quarter corporate earnings season will commence later this week. As is usually the case, the financial companies will be the first to report their numbers. This Friday, we will hear from JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), and Citigroup (C). Investors will closely watch these issuances, given the problems that have surfaced across the banking sector over the past few months.
From a technical viewpoint, the S&P 500 Index entered new 52-week-high territory in late June, but then promptly retreated. Some consolidation was to be expected, given the sizable gains achieved earlier this year. Of course, it is quite difficult to speculate where stocks will go from here. It should be noted that the market is currently ahead about 15% for the year, which is impressive. It is quite possible that many retail and institutional investors have been underinvested, or have been too conservative in their approach, and may now be under pressure to catch up to the broader averages. As a result, market pullbacks may be used to deploy new capital, and might prove to be short-lived. - 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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