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We have an eventful week of new data starting with this morning’s pre-market, with new economic and calendar Q1 earnings reports out, primarily in the middle days of the week. Big Retail companies are bringing forth their three-month totals — Home Depot (HD - Free Report) tomorrow, Target (TGT - Free Report) on Wednesday and Walmart (WMT - Free Report) Thursday — that will determine recent behavior of retail consumers, as will Tuesday’s Retail Sales print for April.
There will also be a Homebuilder Confidence survey, Housing Starts and Building Permits, and Existing Home Sales levels out this week. The softening in the housing market was one of the first tenets of high inflation to slacken back when the Fed began hiking interest rates a year ago March. Also, a parade of voting Fed members and other officers of monetary policy are expected this week, starting with Chicago’s Austan Goolsbee and Minneapolis’ Neel Kashkari today.
This morning, the May read on Empire State manufacturing is out. The headline is far below what analysts were expecting: -31.8 versus -5.0 anticipated, swinging to the negative from the previous months +10.8. This is the lowest print since January’s -32.9, and the fourth month out of the first five this year in negative territory. Shipments have grown volatile — plunging after a robust April. Employment and overall hours worked were both down slightly.
Pre-market levels are up this morning, with the Dow +37 points, the S&P +8 and the Nasdaq +29 points. We’re mixed among major indices over the past week of trading, with the Dow and Russell 2000 down and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 up. Over the past month, however, only the tech-heavy Nasdaq — which underperformed in 2022 — is in positive territory. In fact, the Nasdaq is at year-to-date highs currently, up near +23%. The S&P, at +8% year to date, is in distant second place.
What we’ve seen over the past few weeks, ultimately, is a range-bound trading environment — especially considering the relative volatility of the markets year to date. While, as mentioned, the Nasdaq is now at its year-to-date highs, the Dow and Russell are essentially flat, with the S&P splitting the difference. Very large-cap stocks have kept this current trading range buoyant, especially upon calendar Q1 earnings results and guidance, so this is indicative of a stronger economy than many had predicted by this time in 2023. Questions or comments about this article and/or its author? Click here>>
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Big Week for Retail, Housing, Fed Members
Monday, May 15th, 2023
We have an eventful week of new data starting with this morning’s pre-market, with new economic and calendar Q1 earnings reports out, primarily in the middle days of the week. Big Retail companies are bringing forth their three-month totals — Home Depot (HD - Free Report) tomorrow, Target (TGT - Free Report) on Wednesday and Walmart (WMT - Free Report) Thursday — that will determine recent behavior of retail consumers, as will Tuesday’s Retail Sales print for April.
There will also be a Homebuilder Confidence survey, Housing Starts and Building Permits, and Existing Home Sales levels out this week. The softening in the housing market was one of the first tenets of high inflation to slacken back when the Fed began hiking interest rates a year ago March. Also, a parade of voting Fed members and other officers of monetary policy are expected this week, starting with Chicago’s Austan Goolsbee and Minneapolis’ Neel Kashkari today.
This morning, the May read on Empire State manufacturing is out. The headline is far below what analysts were expecting: -31.8 versus -5.0 anticipated, swinging to the negative from the previous months +10.8. This is the lowest print since January’s -32.9, and the fourth month out of the first five this year in negative territory. Shipments have grown volatile — plunging after a robust April. Employment and overall hours worked were both down slightly.
Pre-market levels are up this morning, with the Dow +37 points, the S&P +8 and the Nasdaq +29 points. We’re mixed among major indices over the past week of trading, with the Dow and Russell 2000 down and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 up. Over the past month, however, only the tech-heavy Nasdaq — which underperformed in 2022 — is in positive territory. In fact, the Nasdaq is at year-to-date highs currently, up near +23%. The S&P, at +8% year to date, is in distant second place.
What we’ve seen over the past few weeks, ultimately, is a range-bound trading environment — especially considering the relative volatility of the markets year to date. While, as mentioned, the Nasdaq is now at its year-to-date highs, the Dow and Russell are essentially flat, with the S&P splitting the difference. Very large-cap stocks have kept this current trading range buoyant, especially upon calendar Q1 earnings results and guidance, so this is indicative of a stronger economy than many had predicted by this time in 2023.
Questions or comments about this article and/or its author? Click here>>