What happened last week:
The S&P 500 and NASDAQ both closed in correction territory last week, down at least 10% from their highs achieved in July. Although each index notched consecutive weeks of negative returns, both remain in positive territory year-to-date with a 7.2% gain for the S&P 500 and a 20.8% gain for the NASDAQ.
Top News!
Meta Platforms (META) was sued by 42 attorneys general over allegations the company knowingly uses addictive features that target young users. According to the complaint, the company “has profoundly altered the psychological and social realities of a generation of young Americans” and “has harnessed powerful and unprecedented technologies to entice, engage, and ultimately ensnare youth and teens.”
The GDP growth rate (first estimate) for Q3 2023 beat expectations (4.7%) as it increased to 4.9% from 2.1%, which was the third straight quarterly decline. The current reading is the highest since Q4 2021.
New home sales for September beat expectations (680,000) as it increased to 759,000 from the upwardly revised 676,000 (from 675,000), making it the highest reading since February 2022 (773,000).
The following companies reported earnings last week: NUE, DHR, DOV, GOOG, ITW, KMB, MSFT, NEE, RTX, TXN, V, VZ, WM, ADP, GD, MCO, META, NOW, TMO, AMZN, CMG, MA, MRK, UPS, ABBV, PSX, XOM. See pages two, three, four, five, and six for details.
Happening this week:
The following companies report earnings: MCD, PEG, PFE, AAPL, AEP, LLY, MCHP, PLTR, SO, SPGI, ZTS.
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee will make its decision on interest rates, which are expected to remain at 5.25% to 5.50%.
On Wednesday, the manufacturing PMI for October is expected to remain at 49.0, which was the eleventh straight reading in contraction territory (below 50) but the highest reading in ten months. On Friday, the non-manufacturing PMI for October is expected to decrease to 53.0 from 53.6, which was the ninth straight month of an expansionary reading.
On Wednesday, the ADP employment change may increase to 150,000 from 89,000. On Friday, the unemployment rate is expected to remain at 3.8%, nonfarm payrolls are forecasted to decrease to 188,000 from 336,000, and average hourly earnings month-over-month are expected to increase to 0.3% from 0.2%.
Thanks for Reading!
- The Rockline Team