Market Direction Week of July 17, 2017©

Market Direction: BULLISH alert issued 11/10/2016

Stock on the Radar (STAR)© was launched 6/19/2017 Sunday evening. When there is a new stock recommendations for the week it is typically made available late Sunday, so investors can prepare to take a position when the market opens Monday for trading.

Last Week Review: The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Russell 2000 (which contains small-company stocks) all reached record highs on Friday, breaking out of a five-week period where weekly moves in the stock market had been muted, averaging 0.25%. Friday also marked the start of the second quarter's earnings season. Earnings of companies in the S&P 500 were up 15.3% in the first quarter, helped by rising oil prices and the sliding value of the U.S. dollar. We expect earnings to continue to rise at a solid, albeit slower, pace through the remainder of the year, as sales are helped by the synchronized global rebound in economic growth and as cost controls remain tight. Company earnings reports can prompt volatility in individual stocks.

The U.S economy is expected to continue to grow modestly, helped by a bit of regulatory relief, optimistic consumers and businesses, still-low interest rates and stronger global growth. In the first half of 2017, the 9.3% return on U.S. large-cap stocks marked their best performance since 2013.

This week President Trump was in Paris meeting with the new French President Emmanuel Macron. Despite their obvious disagreement on climate change, both leaders committed to working together on issues like the Syrian crisis, as well as security in places like Ukraine and Libya.

This week China extended an offer to mediate on the disputed territory of Kashmir, which lies between India and Pakistan. India said “No thanks”.

How the market finished last week, the S&P 500 up 1.4%, the Nasdaq up 2.6%, and the Dow up 1.0%.

This Week: The prospect of a reprieve from interest rate hikes, low steady inflation, and another solid earnings season has the market back at record-breaking levels; though euphoria remains elusive.

Next week US earnings season begins to move into high gear, with a wide selection of US firms reporting earnings.

On the economic front, the European Central Bank (ECB) meets for its latest policy decision, although no change is expected here. China GDP and UK CPI are other key pieces of data to watch out for. 

Economic Calendar: Empire State Survey (7/17), Import and Export Prices (7/18), Leading Indicators (7/20), Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey (7/20)

Some of the major earnings announcements on deck: NFLX, SCHW, GS, JNJ, MSFT, V.

$tockMarketDirection proprietary model is currently BULLISH. We strongly encourage you to monitor positions closely, exercise proper money management strategies and follow us at $tockMarketDirection for ALERTS we may issue advising a change in the current market direction. Stay tuned and follow us. If you have a testimonial or comment of how this website has helped you we would like to know, write us. Share with a friend. Cha-ching.

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