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This Week's Trading Calendar
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Week in Review: Tech Never Dies?
Just when we thought tech couldn't get any stronger... the QQQ's jumped another 1.9% this week, aided by surges in names like Tesla (TSLA), Intel (INTC), Paypal (PYPL), and Netflix (NFLX).
(data as of 3:15 p.m. Friday)
Year-to-date, the QQQ's are up a ridiculous 33.3%.
However, traders are starting to ask whether the other major index ETFs SPY, IWM, and DIA are about to play catch-up.
All three outperformed QQQ for the week as small caps, banks, and energy played catch-up.
However, judging by the action in individual stocks, shorts had better be careful betting against tech... especially when there's the potential for the magic two letters to come out.
And yes, those magic letters are "AI."
MongoDB (MDB) surged 28% on Friday after a blockbuster earnings report and a bullish outlook driven by the almighty AI.
A Big Slowdown...
The US economic data calendar slows down this week with:
- Monday: S&P Global PMI Services PMI, Factory Orders, ISM Non-Manufacturing Employment & PMI
- Tuesday: EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, API Crude Oil Stock
- Wednesday: Trade Balance
- Thursday: Jobless Claims
- Friday: Baker Hughes Rig Count
There's not a lot to get excited about here so we won't waste your time with unnecessary commentary.
And overseas, we see:
- Monday: CHF CPI, ES/ITA/FRA/DE PMI, EU Services PMI, JPY Household Spending, GBP Retail Sales
- Tuesday: AUD Rate Decision & GDP, DE Factory Orders, GBP Construction PMI, CAD Building Permits & Ivey PMI, CNY Trade Balance
- Wednesday: CHF Unemployment, DE Industrial Production, BR CPI, CAD Rate Decision, JPY GDP, AUD Trade Balance
- Thursday: IN Rate Decision, EU GDP, NZD PMI, CNY CPI & PPI
- Friday: RUB Rate Decision & CPI, CAD Employment,
Will GameStop (GME) Say AI?
Last week was action-packed with MongoDB (MDB), Zscaler (ZS), Broadcom (BRCM), Lululemon (LULU), and C3.ai (AI) but this week's calendar is light.
Still, we'll be watching:
- Tuesday: The J. M. Smucker Company (SJM), Ciena Corporation (CIEN)
- Wednesday: Brown-Forman Corporation (BFB), Campbell Soup Company (CPB), GameStop Corp. (GME)
- Thursday: The Toro Company (TTC), Signet Jewelers Limited (SIG), DocuSign Inc. (DOCU), Vail Resorts Inc. (MTN)
- Friday: Nio (NIO)
The big question we're going to ask is... will GameStop (GME) say "AI" on its earnings call?
Because with the stock up 32% in the past month and short interest sky-high at 18%, management may try to juice the stock with the magic word.
Earnings Season Checkup
According to Factset, 99% of the S&P 500 have reported and:
- 78% of companies beat EPS estimates
- 75% of companies have beaten revenue estimates.
- Earnings have declined by -2.1% vs. expectations for a -6.7% decline
Factset also tells us that 10 of 11 sectors have reported better-than-expected earnings, with utilities being the outlier.
Traders Are in a "Meh" Mood Despite Market Strength
Investors and traders remain bearish despite the market's strength this year.
According to AAII, just 29.1% of investors are bullish.
That's up from last week's 27.4% reading but under the long-term average of 37.5%.
36.8% of investors are bearish, and AAII said "Bearish sentiment is above its historical average of 31.0% for the 75th time out of the past 80 weeks."
This negativity may be fueling the market's rise.
The Best ETFs of 2023 - Semis RULE!
Semiconductors are still rocking hard thanks to blockbuster moves in names like Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD), and Marvell (MRVL).
This table shows you just how important sectors have been in 2023.
It was hard to predict at the end of 2022, but the more risk you took, the more you got paid this year.
Meanwhile, energy is way behind after huge returns in 2021 and 2022.
Factoid of the Week: Retail Winners
Amazon (AMZN) and Costco (COST) are the first and third-best retail stocks of 2023:
What do they have in common?
No shoplifting.
We can't say the same about Lululemon (LULU), though they still squeezed out a huge earnings win.
