Earnings, Geopolitics and Other Key Items to Watch This Week

Last week was a wild ride, to say the least. Tesla (TSLA) reported earnings and the market did not like what it had to say, as it proceeded to sell off and close the week down over 15%. Netflix (NFLX) on the other hand proved that their password-sharing crackdown was working and added a huge number of new subscribers. On this news, the share price exploded and ended the week up over 12%. The SPY finished the week down a little over 2% with most of that excitement coming at the end of the week.

This week we have plenty of events to keep an eye out for. We have news releases almost every day, earnings, and continually rising tensions abroad. Here are 5 things to watch in the markets this week.

Earnings

Here to stay for the time being, earnings will steal a lot of the headlines in the coming weeks. This one will be no different, we have a pretty stacked earnings lineup this week with some serious market-moving potential. On Tuesday we have Coca-Cola (KO), Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOGL), and Visa (V). Wednesday has Meta (META), International Business Machines (IBM), and Boeing (BA). Tuesday is Amazon (AMZN), Mastercard (MA), and Intel (INTC), and on Friday we round the week out with Exxon (XOM) and Chevron (CVX). 

Tech is often very heavily weighted in the overall markets, so keeping an eye on this week's earnings could provide some clues and potential insights into the coming months. Coke, Microsoft, Visa, Amazon, and Mastercard could be of particular importance given that they all have direct consumer ties. In addition to looking at the top and bottom line numbers, some of the intangibles like users and active sessions could be significant. Finally listening to the guidance from these retail companies will provide a solid indication of where they think the economy is heading.

Geopolitical Conflict

Also still in the news cycle is the expanding geopolitical tensions and conflicts overseas. In addition to the possibility of a black swan event, the attacks against American assets on the open sea have started to become more prevalent. This could make supply lines tight and oil difficult to acquire heading into the wintertime in the Northern Hemisphere. 

Flash PMI

On the market news front this week we have Flash Services and Manufacturing PMI out Tuesday at 9:45 a.m. Eastern. These show the level of buying but purchasing managers and are often used as a leading indicator for economic health. Watching both for readings over 50 heading into the holiday season could be a sign of recovery coming into the economy as well as a possible reason for the market to rally. If it comes in below 50 as has been the recent trend then we may see some continued sell in the market.

Core PCE Prices

Personal Consumption Expenditures is due out Friday before the opening bell. This release specifically targets price changes of goods purchased by the end user so it could hold a lot of weight for the market. On a macroeconomic level, this is the month-over-month change in prices so anything that is positive means that prices are still increasing for the consumer. A best-case scenario could actually be a decrease to show that the rate hikes are taking hold.

Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment 

The revised sentiment numbers are out Friday at 10 a.m. Eastern and given all of the news the past few weeks, this could move the market. The last several revised releases have come in lower than the initial (which was released about 2 weeks ago), showing that the current feel for the economy is continuing to soften. As with the initial, this is a survey of only about 500 people so it should be taken with a grain of salt.

Best of luck this week and don’t forget to check out my daily options article.

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