The U.S. stock futures may be trading within a tight range at the moment, but the major benchmark indices are still surging after an exciting previous week. As the market looks ahead to corporate earnings from major tech companies, Dow Futures lost 0.2% while S&P 500 Futures and Nasdaq 100 Futures dipped 0.1% each at 7:05 pm ET (11:05 pm GMT).Buckle up, investors, because this week is going to keep you on your toes!
Aside from monitoring the NY empire state manufacturing index, retail sales, industrial production, business inventories, building permits, housing starts, existing home sales, and Philadelphia Fed manufacturing data, we’re all excited to see how quarterly results from Bank of America Corp, Morgan Stanley, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Tesla Inc, International Business Machines, Netflix Inc, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc will pan out. It’s going to be a wild ride!
Futures lackluster as investors wait for more earnings
U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Monday after last week’s gains, as investors geared up for quarterly results from industry heavyweights through the week.
Second-quarter earnings are gathering momentum, with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) due to report on Wednesday, while Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) are also lined up through the rest of the week.
Of the 30 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings as of Friday, 80% beat analyst expectations, according to Refinitiv data.
At 05:00 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 50 points, or 0.14%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 1.75 points, or 0.04%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 16.25 points, or 0.1%.
The three major U.S. indexes ended last week over 2% higher after consumer prices and producer prices data provided evidence that the economy had entered a disinflation phase, stoking hopes that the Federal Reserve will soon end its monetary policy tightening.
On Friday JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) showed big U.S. banks got a profit boost from higher rates and painted a picture of a resilient economy, with sparks of hope in some businesses like deal-making that have been in the dumps of late.
The strong opening rally in lenders, however, quickly fizzled out with most financials ending the session lower as investors feared things were as good as they would get for a while.
“While US stocks have done extremely well in the first half of 2023, companies are going to have to pull a rabbit out of the hat if they are to sustain this momentum,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
In trading before the bell, Tesla gained 1.6% after company said on Sunday it had built its first Cybertruck, after two years of delays.
Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) rose 4.5% after Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) said it has signed an agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following its acquisition.
Also helping the stock, a U.S. appeals court on Friday rejected the Federal Trade Commission’s request to pause Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase.
Lackluster Chinese economic data weighed on investors’ minds on Monday as the world’s second largest economy grew at a frail pace in the second quarter.(Source: Investing.com)
Some of the biggest movers:
Acumen Pharmaceuticals’ experimental Alzheimer’s drug, ACI193, has passed an early safety test with flying colors! It’s like the drug went through a speed dating round and managed to charm all 62 patients with its good manners and wit.
Developed to tackle the pesky beta amyloid in the brain, ACI193 targets the toxic amyloid beta oligimers that form brain plaques, which are linked to Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Eric Siemers, Chief Medical Officer of Acumen, compared the drug to Cupid’s arrow, hitting the target and binding to the oligimers. We can’t wait to see how it fares in the larger trials.
Stock Analysis
Capital Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq:CBNK) is the big boss of a bank serving the folks and businesses of the D.C. area with all kinds of money services. They have two lending brands, a mortgage division, and their own credit card division that operates across the country. This financial powerhouse has grown like a beanstalk for the past seven years and now, their assets are worth over a billion dollars!
How do they stack up against their competition, you ask? Well, in a nutshell, Capital Bancorp is outshining other banks left and right. They’ve got a high per-share earnings ratio that means more profits for their stockholders. They’re working their equity like Beyoncé works a stage, showing off savvy financial moves. Plus, they’re bringing in more dough than their competitors, proving they know how to bank hard.
Oh, and by the way, they’re a better investment than Peoples Financial Services Corp. because their price-to-earnings ratio is lower. Boom!
Smart investing is like choosing the right flavor of ice cream. You can stick with plain vanilla and never go wrong, but if you want to spice things up, you might try a scoop of rocky road or mint chocolate chip.
Similarly, investing in the usual suspects like Apple and Amazon is a safe bet, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you could throw some money at a quirky startup that promises to revolutionize the way we brush our teeth. It might not pay off right away, but who knows, in ten years, you could be rolling in toothbrush royalties. The possibilities are endless, just like the flavors of ice cream.