Though my time is short tonight, I wanted to provide readers a quick look at the coming week in the equity markets since there is a lot riding on several events this week. This is a huge earnings week, and there are also a couple of important economic numbers being released.
Earnings primer
October 15th
- Mattell Inc. (NYSE:MAT)- The company looks to regain some investors confidence after recent toy recalls have hurt the company shares.
October 16th
- International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM)- The older large cap tech name tries to continue its recent impressive performance financially.
- Wells Fargo and Company (NYSE:WFC)- One of the first major banks to show the exact amount of damage from the summer credit crisis, this one will be watched closely.
- Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO)- Investors will continue to look for signs of a turnaround at this company.
October 17th
- JP Morgan Chase and Company (NYSE:JPM)- JPM hasn't said hardly anything about their exposure to subprime woes and fixed-income troubles so this is a huge unknown.
- eBay inc. (Nasdaq:EBAY)- After being stalled for months on end, the stock has started to move and investors are expecting big things.
- The Coca Cola Company (NYSE:KO) Its closest rival PEP came through with strong earnings last week, so its up to KO to keep up.
October 18th
- Google Inc. (Nasdaq:GOOG)- Has been hitting new highs almost daily, so it better knock the cover off the ball or it could see some major pressure.
- Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC)- They have already made it clear that they took a huge hit in the summer, so seeing how investors take the news Thursday will be interesting.
October 19th
- 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)- Shares have perked up nicely of late after being stalled for 2 to 3 years.
- Schlumberger Limited (NYSE:SLB)- One of the first major energy companies to report, many energy traders will be watching closely.
- Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)- Analysts are expecting $1.42 from the company, which is known for being tough to predict.
Though earnings will take the main stage this week, economic data always has the potential to move the markets. The main number this week will be the Consumer Price Index, or the CPI, which will be released Wednesday morning at 8:30 am. There is no other measure that is trusted as much as the CPI to gauge inflation pressures, which traders always watch closely. The housing starts and building permits number will be released Wednesday morning as well. Investors have gotten accustomed to very negative numbers from the housing space, so any sign of a firming would be viewed very positively.
This week will be a huge one on the earnings front, so stay tuned throughout the week. The markets are liable to be volatile this week, and volume should be pretty heavy. Have a great week!
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