Strong corporate earnings continue to boost stocks. The Dow Jones ($DJI) and S&P 500 (SPX) closed at fresh record highs Monday and are up in Tuesday’s premarket.
Let’s take a minute to get ahead of what could move markets. Before we do, it’s worth noting that the U.S. indices, which continue to trend higher, remain at or near all-time highs and continue to reward those who have been positioned with the trend. Those who have been fading it have been forced to be precise in their timing, to say the least.
Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) reports earnings after the bell today, and there are high expectations for its performance and guidance as popular series like The Witcher return, and unexpected breakout hits like Squid Game dominate social media and popular culture for weeks.
Stocks had a winning week following better-than-expected earnings reports resulting in strong end-of-week gains. On Thursday, following earnings beats from big banks and other large companies, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) saw its best day since March, closing 1.7% higher, while the Nasdaq-100 (NDX) climbed 1.9%.
The focus this week will be squarely on the monthly jobs report due out on Friday. After three weeks of disappointing weekly job reports, the larger and more closely watched-monthly number will provide investors and traders insight in terms of where labor conditions in the U.S. stand, with over 10 million jobs open yet employers struggling to find workers to fill positions.
For many, Nike’s (NYSE: NKE) quarterly report means the unofficial end to earnings season. While bank earnings are now only a few weeks away, marking the start to the third-quarter reports, the second quarter was one worth noting.
First, we’re seeing some selling in U.S. indices to begin the week, and while we’re still just off all-time highs in the S&P 500, the Nasdaq, and in the Dow, the swiftness of the move lower through 35K last week and now to below 34K ahead of the cash open is attracting some attention.
Entertainment and social media companies are competing for our eyeballs, whether that’s Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and other streaming services pouring billions into a constant stream of content, or social media algorithms fine-tuning themselves to become as addictive as possible.