The three major averages posted gains for the fourth week in row, lifted by strong quarterly earnings results for most of the Big Tech companies and a strong jobs report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite rose about 1% for the week, while the S & P 500 gained 1.2%. We are now nearly halfway through this earnings season. Of the 46% of the S & P 500 companies that have reported December quarter results so far, 72% had an upside earnings surprise, while 65% reported better-than-expected revenue results. On the macroeconomic front, it was all about jobs. A weaker ADP Employment report on Wednesday provided no read-through to the monster January jobs report Friday. The U.S. added 353,000 jobs in last month, way above the 185,000 economists had predicted. Moreover, both the December and November numbers were revised higher by a combined 126,000 jobs. Wage inflation was also hotter than expected, rising 4.5% versus the year ago period, above the 4.1% estimate. That initially caused a slight pullback in the futures of all three major averages, but the selling was short-lived as investors took comfort in the idea that the economy continues to chug along despite the elevated interest rates. It looks like good news is good news for the time being. Should inflation bounce back, that may not be the case. But the latest data shows inflation is coming down to more manageable levels, and folks are still at work and companies are growing sales and earnings as a result. The soft landing remains very much in play. Here’s what we’re keeping an eye on in the coming week: 1. Services. It will be a very light week on the macroeconomic front, but the ISM Services PMI will kick things off on Monday. Economists are looking for a reading of 52.3% for January, which would represent an accelerated expansion versus the 50.6% reading in December. As a reminder, the ISM report measures the rate of contraction/expansion, measured by the distance from that 50-level…
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