Micron, Super Micro Computer and Nike are among the most notable earnings to come out this week.
The markets will try and break a four-week losing streak this week, but they did not get off to a good start Monday, as stocks were plummeting at the open.
The S&P 500 dropped about 2.5% last week, while the Nasdaq fell 2.8% and the Dow Jones was off around 3.3%.
They got off to a decent start on Monday after the U.S. Census Bureau released retail and food services sales results for February. Retail sales increased 0.2% last month, which was better than the 1.2% decline in January. However, the results fell well short of 0.6% growth estimates.
But, there was some good news as retail sales minus autos rose 0.3% for the month, which was on par with expectations.
It was not a great report, but it also wasn’t a terrible report, as retail sales did grow, even though results fell short of expectations. In the face of flagging consumer confidence, the impact of tariffs on inflation and growth, and talk of recession and a slowing economy, it drew mixed results from investors.
The markets were indeed mixed on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up slightly, while the Dow Jones and Russell 2000 were trending lower.
It sets the table for the bigger economic news this week when the Federal Open Market Committee on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Fed meets Wednesday
The Fed’s FOMC meets on Wednesday and it is not anticipated to make any moves on interest rates. After reducing rates in three consecutive meetings from September to December by a total of 100 basis points, the Fed did not make any changes at its last meeting in February, citing rising inflation rates, among other factors.
While inflation did move down to 2.8% in February, from 3.0% the previous month, it is unlikely to cause the FOMC to make a move. Fed chair Jerome Powell maintains that the Fed does not typically act on one month of data, no matter how good or bad. It typically looks for sustained patterns one way or another.
The markets are not expecting any moves, as CME’s FedWatch says that 99% of interest rate traders expect rates to stay the same. Thus, it is unlikely that the FOMC won’t have much impact on the markets this week, unless Powell and the committee members say something unexpected in the release or the ensuing press conference.
Micron and Supermicro post earnings
Earnings season has slowed to a crawl, but there are still some big names out there worth watching. Most notably, Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU), the semiconductor company, reports earnings after the market closes on Thursday. Micron is one of the relatively few big tech stocks that has performed well this year.
Another highlight this week is Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ:SMCI), the AI server company. Supermicro has had its share of issues, and was almost delisted, but it seems to be back on track, so earnings should be interesting. Supermicro reports after the market closes on Wednesday.
Other earnings to watch this week are dividend stock General Mills (NYSE:GIS) on Wednesday morning, Five Below (NASDAQ:FIVE) on Wednesday afternoon, Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) and FactSet (NYSE:FDS) on Thursday morning, FedEx (NYSE:FDX) and homebuilder Lennar (NYSE:LEN) and Nike (NYSE:NKE) on Thursday afternoon, and Carnival Cruise Lines (NYSE:CCL) on Friday morning.
