Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Wake up, it’s Monday
The bulls are hoping this week is better than last. Friday’s closing bell brought an end to a rough five-day frame for both the S&P 500, which slipped over 1.1%, and the Nasdaq, which slid more than 2.4%. While stocks have started the year relatively well, there are certain realities keeping things in check. Inflation has come down, but it’s still high. The Federal Reserve has identified the light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s still prepared to keep raising rates to slow down price increases. And while the economy has been resilient, there are still pockets where slowdowns are a concern. Read live markets updates.
2. Another big earnings week
Speaking of factors weighing on stocks, earnings haven’t been so great this quarter. Companies’ outlooks haven’t been swell, either, although some of them see skies clearing up in the latter half of the year. Coca-Cola and Cisco lead the pack this week. Here’s when the major names report:
- Tuesday: Coca-Cola, Restaurant Brands (before the bell); Airbnb (after the bell)
- Wednesday: Kraft Heinz, Roblox (before the bell); Cisco, Zillow, Shopify, Boston Beer, Roku, QuantumScape (after the bell)
- Thursday: Hasbro, Paramount Global (before the bell); DraftKings, DoorDash, Dropbox (after the bell)
3. A classic Super Bowl
This year’s Super Bowl had everything. Rihanna unveiled during her stunning halftime performance that she was pregnant. Celebrities dominated what turned out to be a really funny slate of commercials (although they didn’t hawk crypto this time around for some reason). Media critic and Twitter CEO Elon Musk was spotted sitting with News Corp and Fox honcho Rupert Murdoch. And the game was great, too. After the Philadelphia Eagles, led by an incredible Jalen Hurts, rushed to a 24-14 lead at halftime, the Kansas City Chiefs and their MVP quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, executed a nearly flawless gameplan in the second half to win 38-35. It’s the Chiefs’ second Super Bowl win in four years.
4. Explaining the housing market
It can be hard to keep up with all the ups, downs and sideways moves in the housing market. What’s going on with home prices these days, anyway? CNBC’s Diana Olick breaks it down. While price increases have been slowing for months, actual prices are still higher than they were 12 months prior. With mortgage rates easing off a bit, demand appears to be returning, and that could help nudge prices up a bit again. “While prices continued to fall from November, the rate of decline was lower than that seen in the summer and still adds up to only a 3% cumulative drop in prices since last spring’s peak,” said CoreLogic’s chief economist, Selma Hepp.
5. Watch the skies
What’s with all the close encounters in North American air space lately? Things from another world? Almost certainly not, although a top U.S. military officer, when asked whether aliens were involved, said he hasn’t ruled out anything. “I’ll let the intel community and the counterintelligence community figure that out,” said Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command. The wild speculation came as U.S. jets shot more objects out of North American skies over the weekend, days after they took down a Chinese spy balloon that floated over much of the United States. The more recent objects haven’t been as big as the Chinese balloon, and it’s not clear where they might have come from. And lawmakers are demanding answers. The truth is out there, probably.
