Stocks closed higher yesterday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq and S&P 500 leading the way with 1.57% and 0.72% respectively.

With one more day to go, the big three indexes are all higher for the week. The small-cap Russell 2000 and mid-cap S&P 400 are not far behind. And a little bit of follow through today could put them in the plus column for the week as well.

NVIDIA jumped 8.74% yesterday after posting another quarter of blowout earnings the afternoon before. They surprised on both the top and bottom lines, and reported a quarterly EPS growth rate of 111% vs. this time last year, and a sales growth of 106%, while also upping Q3 rev guidance.

Not only did NVIDIA's performance lift other AI names, but it also lifted the broader market as well.

Even though NVIDIA's earnings marked the official end to earnings season, there's still plenty of companies in queue to report. We saw that yesterday with Dollar General posting a positive EPS surprise of 11.50% before the open, and gaining 2.53%; and Affirm Holdings posting after the close with a 1,300% positive EPS surprise, and popping 10% in after-hours trade.

We'll get another 23 companies on deck to report today.

In other news, yesterday's Weekly Jobless Claims fell -4,000 to 203,000 vs. the consensus for 208,000.

Retail Inventories rose 0.7% m/m vs. last month's -0.2%, while Wholesale Inventories rose 1.3% m/m vs. last month's 0.3% and views for 0.2%.

Today we'll get the Chicago PMI, and the always important Consumer Sentiment report (as a happy and confident consumer is a consumer who spends -- and since roughly 70% of GDP comes from consumer spending, it's a number to watch).

We'll also hear from Kevin Warsh today as he speaks at the Jackson Hole Symposium. Everybody will be listening for any newsworthy comments. I'm not expecting him to deviate much from what he already shared after the latest Fed meeting. But he might very well talk about rising yields, not just in the U.S., but globally. Either way, you can be sure the market will be listening.

And, as always, the market will also be watching for any news out of the Middle East. Reports suggested that a deal between Iran and Oman to open the Strait of Hormuz is being passed around, but that it potentially bans U.S. warships from transiting the waterway. No telling the veracity of that report, or what the White House's take on that is. But the market will be watching developments on that.

All in all, it's looking like a good week for stocks. And a little bit of good news today should keep it that way.

Best,