US Stocks Jump On Earnings Optimism
4:13 pm Monday, July 12th, 2021
U.S. stocks edged higher Monday as investors prepared for corporate earnings season to kick off this week.
The S&P 500 financials sector (+1.0%) was leading the record-setting advance amid a positive turnaround in Treasury yields and as investors look forward to Q2 earnings results from JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) tomorrow morning.
The real estate (+0.8%) and communication services (+0.4%) sectors follow suit, while the energy (-0.3%), consumer staples (-0.3%), and industrials (-0.2%) sectors underperform in negative territory. None of these sectors are up or down by more than 1.0%, though, which suggests that trading conviction is lacking.
The lackluster price action apart from the financials space could be attributed to a wait-and-see mindset for key economic data this week. The CPI and PPI measures of inflation for June will be released on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, and retail sales data for June will be released on Friday.
In addition, the market will hear from Fed Chair Powell on Wednesday and Thursday as part of his semiannual monetary policy testimony before Congress. Staying in Washington, the Senate has returned from recess and will reportedly continue to discuss infrastructure this week.
Walt Disney (DIS) is one of today’s individual standouts after a solid movie debut of “Black Widow.” JP Morgan reiterated the stock as one of its top picks for 2021, according to CNBC.
U.S. Treasuries began the week on a modestly lower, but generally quiet, note. Treasuries followed Friday’s slide with a modestly higher start, but the higher open did not invite additional buying. Instead, Treasuries ranged near their opening highs through the first hour of action, dipping from their highs as equities climbed out of the gate.
