On Friday, investors braced themselves for big bank earnings to commence. And, the stock futures were down in early premarket trading. Interestingly, futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average had slipped 17 points. This was 0.05%, and S&P 500 futures were a little lower. The Nasdaq 100 futures had dipped 0.27%.
However, the overnight moves, gave in to a positive day, for 3 major indexes. The Nasdaq Composite got its 5th day of gains. So, this is the first since July. Stocks rose broadly. The December CPI report shows that prices declined 0.1 percent over November. At the same time, prices rose at a 6.5 percent pace against the previous year. So, the results increased the hopes that the Federal Reserve can go slow on its hiking.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average put on 216.96 points (0.64%). The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite had gained 0.34 percent and 0.64 percent, respectively. But, stocks are heading for a winning week. This is possible with the Nasdaq and S&P on pace. Both look for their best weekly performance, since last November. Here, the Nasdaq is up 4.09 percent through the closing on Thursday. Similarly, the S&P increased 2.26%, and the Dow added 1.66 percent.
The 8 of eleven S&P 500 sectors finished with a positive Thursday. This led to the upside by the year 2022 stalwart energy. However, consumer staples stocks were slow. As a result, the sector slipped 0.79%.
Now, the earnings season kicks into full gear on Friday. This got results from big bank stocks JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America. However, investors will monitor the releases. The releases are expected to offer better insight into the economy and it will help to set the tone for the earnings season.
LPL Financial’s chief global strategist, Quincy Krosby, commented about the market scenarios. She said that the tug-of-war among the analysts intensified. This is more because of the prospects for a recession. Here, the earnings reports from different banks, coupled with their guidance, increasingly should be able to help clarify the management conditions of businesses and consumers.