Wall Street ended the week with back-to-back gains, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both up nearly 1.5%. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech from Jackson Hole indicated that interest rate cuts are on the way, with the market now expecting up to 1 percentage point of cuts by the end of the year. The current odds suggest a 25-basis-point cut in September, a possible 50-basis-point cut in November, and a 25-basis-point cut in December. TJX Companies and Palo Alto Networks were among the best-performing stocks of the week, while Estee Lauder was not as successful, leading to a decision to sell the stock.
Looking ahead, Nvidia is set to report its fiscal 2025 second quarter earnings, with investors closely watching the company’s guidance for the current quarter and supply and demand dynamics. Salesforce and Best Buy are also scheduled to report their earnings for the same quarter, with a focus on deal activity and AI technology marketing strategies, respectively. Economic data to watch for includes the government’s second look at U.S. economic growth in the second quarter and the release of the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, which is expected to show a year-over-year increase of 2.5%.
The week ahead also includes earnings reports from companies like Abercrombie & Fitch, Chewy, Kohl’s, Dell Technologies, Lululemon, ULTA Beauty, and more. Economic data to be released includes the Gross Domestic Product (Q2 preliminary), weekly jobless claims, pending home sales, and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment data. The focus will be on key indicators such as inflation and economic growth, as well as corporate performance and guidance.
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