Last Updated: 4:22 PM EST
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Stock indices finished today’s trading session in the green. The Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) gained 0.27%, 0.28%, and 0.53%, respectively. Earlier today, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell praised the U.S. economy’s performance over the past few years at an event hosted by the Economic Club of Washington, DC.
He noted that the labor market is now similar to how it was at the end of 2019 and that it’s essentially at equilibrium. While inflation data in Q2 has increased the Fed’s confidence in reaching its 2% target, Powell said it’s not enough to change policy yet and refrained from signaling any specific future actions.
Separately, Stifel analysts put out their own commentary. The investment firm admitted that its call for an immediate market correction was mistimed, but it still predicts that a correction will occur by the end of October. They expect the S&P 500 to see just over a 10% drop, aiming for the 5,000 range instead of the previous 4,750 target.
Stifel also anticipates slower growth in the second half of 2024 and holds a negative outlook on equities, particularly for overextended growth stocks. They prefer defensive value segments like Health Care, Consumer Staples, Utilities, and quality stocks.
First Published: 4:42 AM EST
U.S. futures inched higher on Monday morning as investors looked ahead to the busy corporate earnings week. Interestingly, over 40 S&P 500 companies will report Q2 results this week. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 (NDX), the S&P 500 (SPX), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) were up by about 0.48%, 0.35%, and 0.32%, respectively, at 4:16 a.m. EST, July 15.
Last week, all three major indices closed in positive territory. Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9% and 0.3%, respectively. Further, the Dow Jones outperformed, closing 1.6% higher. The positive market sentiment was fueled by renewed interest rate-cut hopes.
Turning to this week’s economic reports, the Retail Sales report for June is due for release on Tuesday. Additionally, investors await the release of June’s Industrial Production data on Wednesday. Furthermore, Initial Jobless Claims data for the week ended July 12 and changes in Existing Home Sales for June will be made public on Thursday.
On the earnings front, several major companies, including Goldman Sachs (GS), Bank of America (BAC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Netflix (NFLX), American Express (AXP), and Abbott (ABT), will announce results this week.
Meanwhile, the U.S. 10-year treasury yield was down at the time of writing, floating near 4.21%. At the same time, WTI crude oil futures trended lower, hovering near $81.97 per barrel as of the last check.
Elsewhere, European markets opened lower today as investors evaluated the impact of the assassination attempt made on former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Asia Pacific Markets Traded Lower on Monday
Most of the Asia-Pacific indices traded lower today as investors digested China’s lower-than-expected Gross Domestic Product data and the news of an assassination attack on Trump.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s Shenzhen Component indices were down 1.55% and 0.59%, respectively. At the same time, Japan’s Nikkei and Topix indices finished lower by 2.45% and 1.18%, respectively. However, China’s Shanghai Composite index was up 0.09%.
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