The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indexes closed at record highs last week, both jumping more than 3% for the third consecutive week. Wall Street seems convinced that the Iran war is over even before a formal announcement to that effect has been made.
This view was reinforced by Iran's Friday declaration that the Strait of Hormuz was open to commercial vessels. West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropped 11.4% on the day, to $83.85 a barrel, the lowest level since March 10.
This week roughly 90 S&P 500 Index companies are set to report quarterly earnings, led by Capital One Financial, Danaher, GE Aerospace, RTX, and UnitedHealth Group on Tuesday. AT&T, Boeing, IBM, Lam Research, Philip Morris International, ServiceNow, Tesla(, and Texas Instruments will announce results on Wednesday, followed by American Express, Comcast, Honeywell International, Intel, Lockheed Martin, NextEra Energy, and Union Pacific on Thursday. HCA Healthcare, Norfolk Southern, and Procter & Gamble will close out the week on Friday.
Economic data released this week include retail sales figures from the Census Bureau on Tuesday and S&P Global's Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers' Indexes on Thursday.
Monday 4/20
BOK Financial, Cleveland-Cliffs, Steel Dynamics, and Zions Bancorp release earnings.
Tuesday 4/21
3M, Capital One Financial, Chubb, Danaher, D.R. Horton, Equifax, EQT, GE Aerospace, Genuine Parts, Halliburton, Interactive Brokers Group, Intuitive Surgical, MSCI, Northern Trust, Northrop Grumman, Quest Diagnostics, RTX, Synchrony Financial, Tractor Supply, United Airlines Holdings, UnitedHealth Group, and W.R. Berkley report quarterly results.
The Census Bureau reports retail and food services sales for March. Consensus estimate is for a 1.3% month-over-month increase, seven-tenths of a percentage point more than in February. Excluding autos and gas, retail sales are seen rising 0.2%, compared with 0.4% previously.
The National Association of Realtors reports its Pending Home Sales Index for March. The PHS, a leading indicator of housing activity, is expected to be flat month over month, after a 1.8% increase in February.
Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s Federal Reserve chair nominee, is set to appear before the Senate Banking Committee. If Warsh isn’t confirmed by the Senate before Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s term ends on May 15, Powell has said he will stay on as chair “pro tempore” until a new chair is confirmed.
Wednesday 4/22
AT&T, Boeing, Boston Scientific, CME Group, Crown Castle, CSX, Elevance Health, GE Vernova, Globe Life, IBM, Kinder Morgan, Lam Research, Las Vegas Sands, Masco, Moody’s, NVR, Otis Worldwide, Packaging Corp. of America, Philip Morris International, Raymond James Financial, Rollins, ServiceNow, Southwest Airlines, TE Connectivity, Teledyne Technologies, Tesla, Texas Instruments, United Rentals, Vertiv Holdings, Waste Connections, and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies announce earnings.
Thursday 4/23
American Express, Ameriprise Financial, Baker Hughes, Blackstone, CBRE Group, CenterPoint Energy, Comcast, Digital Realty Trust, Dover, Dow Inc., Edwards Lifesciences, Erie Indemnity, Freeport-McMoRan, First Citizens BancShares, Hartford Insurance Group, Honeywell International, Huntington Bancshares, Intel, Keurig Dr Pepper, Lockheed Martin, Nasdaq, NextEra Energy, Newmont, PG&E, Pool Corp., Principal Financial Group, PulteGroup, Roper Technologies, Sanofi, SAP, Snap-On, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Union Pacific, Verisign, and West Pharmaceutical Services report quarterly results.
S&P Global releases both its Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers' Indexes for April. Economists forecast a 52.5 reading for the Manufacturing PMI and a 50 for the Services PMI. These compare with readings of 52.3 and 49.8, respectively, in March. Readings above 50 indicate expansion compared to the prior month, while those below 50 represent contraction.
Friday 4/24
Charter Communications, HCA Healthcare, Norfolk Southern, Procter & Gamble, and SLB release earnings.