What happened last week…
Stocks continued their winning streak as all three major indices finished the week higher: DJIA (0.96%), S&P 500 (0.85%), NASDAQ (0.80%). All three indices have made six consecutive weekly gains and are currently positive for the month: DJIA (2.23%), S&P 500 (1.77%), NASDAQ (1.65%).
At a conference, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller stated his desire for a more usual pace of rate reductions in the future compared to the oversized 50 basis point cut last month. Waller said, “While we do not want to overreact to this data or look through it, I view the totality of the data as saying monetary policy should proceed with more caution on the pace of rate cuts than was needed at the September meeting.” According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the November meeting has a 92.9% probability of implementing a 25-basis point cut. The current interest rate range is 4.75% to 5.00%.
Uber (UBER) has reportedly held very early-stage discussions about buying travel booking company Expedia (EXPE), which is currently valued at about $20 billion. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi had previously been the CEO of Expedia from 2005 to 2017 and is currently on its board of directors. According to the Financial Times report, sources said a deal may not materialize.
According to FactSet, as of October 18, for Q3 2024, 14% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings with 79% having a positive EPS surprise and 64% having a positive revenue surprise. The blended earnings for the S&P 500 is 3.4%, which would be the fifth straight quarter of growth. The blended revenue for the index is 4.7%, which would be the 16th straight quarter of growth.
Happening this week…
On Wednesday, existing home sales for September are expected to increase to 3.90 million from 3.86 million, which was the lowest reading since October 2023 (3.85 million). On Thursday, new home sales for September are expected to decrease to 710,000 from 716,000.
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- The Rockline Team
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