Stocks began the week in mixed fashion, but the Dow managed to push through to a new high at the close of Monday’s session. Looking to today, the futures were pointing to a slightly down open for the major equity indexes. In Asia, markets mostly gained some ground. Meanwhile, stocks in Europe are trading in positive territory. Elsewhere, oil prices have moved lower, with West Texas Intermediate down about 0.7%, to around $77.00 a barrel.
Although earnings season is largely wrapped up, investors will be keen to hear what NVIDIA (NVDA) has to say when it reports on Wednesday. With the wave of heightened interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in recent years, the maker of advanced chips, systems, and software has soared to the forefront and is now considered by many to be a key bellwether for the burgeoning segment, and all the industries that serve it.
Turning to this week’s economic calendar, The Conference Board is due to release its Consumer Confidence Index for August this morning. With recent reports of high credit card balances and increased loan delinquencies, there has been growing concern that buyers (battered by inflation and high interest rates) may be stretched to the limit. However, the Wall Street consensus is suggesting little, if any, weakening in the index.
On Thursday, the Department of Labor will release its report on initial jobless claims. Analysts are calling for that figure to come in around 234,000, up slightly from the 232,000 reported the week before. That same day, the Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its revised estimate for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the second quarter. It is widely anticipated that the figure will be unchanged from the initial estimate of 2.8% growth. We’ll also hear from the National Association of Realtors, which will provide its report on pending home sales for July. There, forecasts are calling for a deceleration to 0.2% month-over-month growth, which would be well below the 4.8% increase logged in June.
On Friday, the Department of Commerce will report its Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price index for last month. Analysts are looking for a 12-month increase of about 2.5%, which would be flat with the June reading. However, expectations are calling for the month-over-month figure to tick up 0.2%, versus 0.1% in June.
Summing up Monday’s moves for the major U.S. indexes, the Dow Jones Industrials gained 65 points, or 0.2%, which was enough to etch out another high-water mark. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 lost 17 points (0.3%), and the tech-focused NASDAQ fell 152 points (0.9%). – Mario Ferro
At the time of this article’s writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.
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