What Moved Markets This Week
Stocks ended a positive week on a disappointing note, as some investors may have elected to trim their holdings ahead of the U.S.-led strike on Syria. For the week, the Dow gained 1.8%, the S&P popped 2% and the Nasdaq advanced 2.8%, thanks to a rebound in tech stocks and a big jump in energy shares. Treasury prices finished mixed on Friday, as the yield on the benchmark 10-year note slipped a basis point to 2.82% while the two-year yield added 2 bps to 2.37%. Check out Seeking Alpha's latest Stocks to Watch article for a preview of next week's action.
Economy
Monday:
"President Putin, Russia and Iran are responsible for backing Animal Assad. Big price to pay," President Trump tweeted after a suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria. Reports suggested at least 70 people had died, while over 500 people were brought to medical centers. Russia's RTS stock index fell almost 7% on the news, as well as from the recent round of U.S. sanctions.
Tuesday:
President Xi Jinping took the stage overnight at the Boao Forum for Asia, an annual summit that's been dubbed the "Asian Davos," where he discussed plans to further open up the Chinese economy. He promised to "significantly lower" import tariffs on products including cars, as well as improve the investment environment for foreign companies, in a speech seen as conciliatory amid rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China.
Wednesday:
Fed officials appeared to lean hawkish at their most recent policy meeting, with "all participants" expecting the economy to strengthen and inflation to rise "in coming months." The Labor Department's inflation report was also in focus. Core inflation rose above 2% for the first time in decade, clawing its way back above the Fed's landmark level.
Thursday:
Earnings season kicked off with reports from big financial institutions like BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Citigroup (NYSE:C), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and PNC Financial (NYSE:PNC). Tax cuts should help Corporate America post its biggest quarterly profit growth in seven years, with S&P 500 profits expected to rise 18.4%, but any disappointments could further upset investor sentiment.
Friday:
"Political uncertainty in the Middle East has returned to the fore," the IEA said in its closely watched monthly report. "It remains to be seen if recently elevated prices are sustained and if so what are the implications for the market demand and supply dynamics." With crude futures at highs not seen since December 2014, the IEA also called OPEC's goal to shrink oil stocks a "mission accomplished."
Stocks
Monday:
John Cryan is out as CEO of Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) following three consecutive years of losses at Europe's largest investment bank. Christian Sewing, retail specialist and deputy CEO, will take over immediately. "Following a comprehensive analysis we came to the conclusion that we need a new execution dynamic in the leadership of our bank," Chairman Paul Achleitner said in a statement.
Tuesday:
Facebook shares soared as Mark Zuckerberg testified before Congress without making any pledges to support new legislation or change how the social network does business. Key moments: Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) did not notify FTC about the Cambridge Analytica leak and is working with Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference. Zuck also clarified that "there will always be a free version of Facebook."
Wednesday:
Surprise! Sprint (NYSE:S) has restarted talks to merge with T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS), sources told the WSJ, marking the latest effort to bring together the fourth and third largest U.S. wireless carriers. New discussions are at a preliminary stage and it's not clear what the sides are discussing. The combined company would have more than 127M customers amid a race to expand offerings in 5G.
Thursday:
Strategic review? General Electric (NYSE:GE) is reportedly exploring a public offering for one of its divisions and is discussing hybrid deals with public companies to combine assets in a way that avoids a big tax bill. Such moves would give GE and its shareholders a chance to participate in the turnaround of struggling businesses rather than risk selling at inopportune times.
Friday:
After accusing Amazon of hurting the organization, President Trump has ordered the creation of a task force to study the U.S. Postal Service, which has lost $65B since the 2007-2009 recession. "The USPS... must be restructured to prevent a taxpayer-funded bailout," according to the order. Wall Street analysts have estimated that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) pays USPS roughly half what it would to UPS or FedEx (NYSE:FDX) to deliver packages
AI
