Jan. 25, 2021 - Stocks had an uneven session and the major indices finished Monday with mixed results. Big tech stocks took the lead today ahead of a slew of earnings expected this week, while Energy and Materials fell amidst rising covid cases and a weakening economic recovery.
Earnings
Earnings reports scheduled for this week include: Tesla (TSLA), Apple (AAPL), and Facebook (FB), all of which are heavy-weight components of the S&P 500. All three expectedto release earnings after the market closes on Wednesday.
The companies reporting this week should give another look into markets that last week’s reports from the banks may not have. The tech stocks reporting this week represent some of the best performing stocks throughout the pandemic and can likely provide a perspective to the online economy that banks may have missed.
Through Friday, 86% of S&P 500 companies that have reported so far have beaten earnings according to Factset and, if this rate maintains, it will represent the highest percentage of S&P 500 companies to report better-than-expected earnings since Factset began tracking the metric in 2008. While this datapoint is encouraging, companies are still reporting less revenues than they did during the same period the year before.
Gross Domestic Product
In addition to earnings, fourth quarter GDP could be a mover in markets this week. Economists expected a 4.2% increase to during the final months of 2020. This is a massive slowdown from the third quarter's increase of 33.4%, but is still welcome in the wake of the 31.4% decline recorded in the second quarter.
This slowdown is worrying to economists because of what it might mean for the first quarter of this year. The biggest influencer to U.S. economic growth is the consumer, many of whom struggled to stay afloat during the final months of 2020. Personal consumption is expected to have increased by a 3.2% in the fourth quarter, which once again pales in comparison to the third quarter increase of 41%.
Economic Events this Week
Tuesday
- 10:00 a.m. - Consumer Confidence
Wednesday
- 10:30 a.m. - EIA Crude Oil Inventories
- 2:00 p.m. - FOMC Rate Decision
Thursday
- 8:30 a.m. - Initial Claims
- 8:30 a.m. - GDP-Adv.
Friday
- 8:30 a.m. - PCE Prices
- 8:30 a.m. - Personal Spending
Earnings Reports this Week
Tuesday:
Before the bell: VZ, JNJ, GE, LMT, ADM, RTX, NVS, MMM After the bell: MSFT, COF, SBUX, CHRW, CNI, TXN, AMD, WRB, EHC
Wednesday:
Before the bell: ABT, APH, ANTM, T, ADP, BX, BA, EAT, CLS After the bell: AAPL, FB, TSLA, WHR, SYK, AVT, LRCX, AMP, URI, RJF, CP, PKG
Thursday:
Before the bell: CMCSA, VLO, DOW, NOC, DHR, FLEX, NUE, MCD, MO, WRK, SHW After the bell: MDLZ, V, PFG, WDC, X, EMN, AJG, OLN, CE
Friday:
Before the bell: ERIC, CVX, PSX, CHTR, CAT, HON, SAP, LLY, LYB, JCI, LHX
Sector and Industry Sentiment
You can now see which sectors and industries are performing best for each of our metrics using our new Sector and Industry Analysis tools.