We start a new month of trading with a spring in the major indexes’ step: the Dow looks to open +180 points, the Nasdaq +60 and the S&P 500 +20. Though April kind of skidded into its final weeks, it still represented the market’s best performance in about half a year. And with Q1 earnings season continuing to unfold favorably (for the most part), investors look to enjoy a healthy Q2, as well.
Estee Lauder
EL
reported fiscal Q3 earnings well ahead of expectations: $1.62 per share versus $1.29 in the Zacks consensus and 85 cents per share in the year-ago quarter. However, quarterly sales of $3.86 billion missed expectations by 1.54%. Shares have fallen 4.75% in early trading on the news, though they still are outpacing the S&P 500 year to date.
Major conglomerate
Loews Corp.
L
posted a positive earnings beat for its fiscal Q4: 73 cents per share topped estimates by 1.4%, and a nice bounce-back from -53 cents in the year-ago quarter. Revenues of $3.8 billion represent gains of 18% year over year, based on +15.6% from
CNA Financial
CNA
and +18.4% from
Diamond Offshore
DO
. Loews Hotels posted a $59 million net loss, -6.1%. Shares are +25% year to date, double the S&P.
After the opening bell, we look toward both
Markit Manufacturing PMI
and
ISM Manufacturing
prints, both for April. Expectations are for 60.6 and 65.9%, respectively — basically flat month over month. Also
Construction Spending
for March will hit the tape with a rebound expected to +1.8% from -0.8% the previous month. Finally, sporadic
motor vehicle sales
will be coming in throughout the day. All this date will articulate further the strength of the economy just in the rearview mirror.
This will be the busiest week for earnings reports, even as many of the marquee names in Banks, Tech and elsewhere have already released results. This week, the companies on the front-lines of the war on Covid —
Pfizer
PFE
,
Moderna
MRNA
and
CVS
CVS
— along with
General Motors
GM
and
Etsy
ETSY
, among many others. This is also jobs data week, starting Wednesday with the
ADP
ADP
private sector rolls and Friday’s all-important non-farm employment numbers.
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