Buckle up, investors. The week ahead may offer a bumpy ride.
The week has more than enough of everything: a Federal Reserve meeting, the June jobs report and more than 1,000 earnings reports from companies giant, huge, big and small.
Related: With Fed set to cut rates, this money move may pay off
The schedule comes after a volatile week:
The S&P 500 fell 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.1%, with the Nasdaq-100 index down 2.6%. Yet, the Dow had a small gain, and the small-cap Russell jumped 3.5% as investors pushed money to non-tech investments.
The major averages are no longer overbought but, rather, oversold. A key indicator — MACD — suggested the trend for now is lower.
Kamala Harris has emerged as the Democratic front runner after Joe Biden withdrew his presidential reelection bid.
Nvidia has fallen nearly 20% from its 52-week high of $140.76 on June 20 and it's unnerving, given the market's big rally from lows in October.
There's the potential for more volatility Friday when the Labor Department issues its jobs report for June.
But markets aren't panicking. It may be more investors who can take profits are doing so — and reinvesting elsewhere. As money manager Jon Markman wrote on Friday, "Success is not supposed to be easy."
A flood of earnings are ahead
This is the biggest week of earnings for the second quarter. Nasdaq estimates nearly 1,095 companies will report results. The lineup includes some of the very largest companies, including:
Microsoft, due after Tuesday's close. Microsoft (MSFT) shares fell 2.7% this past week as investors started selling pricey techs stocks. Microsoft is down 4.9% in July but up 13.1% for 2024. Fiscal fourth-quarter earnings are estimated at $2.90 a share, up from $2.69 a year ago.
Apple, due after Thursday's close. Apple (AAPL) shares fell 2.8% on the week but are up 3.5% on the month and 13.2% year-to-date. The estimate for fiscal third-quarter earnings is $1.34 a share, up from $1.26 a year ago.
Amazon.com, due after Thursday's close. The online retail colossus (AMZN) fell just 0.3% on the week. The shares are down 5.6% for the month but up 20.1% in 2024. The earnings estimate is $1.03 a share, up from 63 cents a year ago.
Meta Platforms, due after Wednesday's close. Facebook parent Meta (META) fell 2.3% on the week and shares are off 7.6% in July. Year-to-date gain: 31.6%. The analyst estimate is $4.69 a share, up from 3.23 a share a week ago.