The major U.S. equity market indexes finished mixed on Friday but recorded gains for the holiday-shortened trading week on optimism following some signs of strength from the retail sector heading into the holiday shopping season and the release of minutes from the Fed’s last meeting suggesting rate hikes might slow soon. The Nasdaq rose 0.7% for the week, while the Dow gained 1.7%, and the S&P 500 climbed 1.5%.
Up next is Cyber Monday today in the U.S., a day that will feature numerous deals, discounts, and promotions for online shoppers. Similar to Black Friday, Cyber Monday sales are considered a proxy for the health of the U.S. consumer and retail sector. If Black Friday sales outperform this year, the strong performance could carry over into next week and the remainder of the holiday shopping season. Adobe Analytics forecasts $209.7 billion in online holiday sales this year, an increase of 2.5% compared to last year’s holiday sales. Cyber Monday sales are projected to hit $11 billion, or 5.1% higher than in 2021. Despite higher prices, consumers are feeling optimistic, with households of every income level surveyed by Deloitte planning to spend the same amount or more this holiday season than they did last year.2
More earnings will come next week from companies including Salesforce, TD Bank, Dollar General, Kroger, and Ulta Beauty, among others. The labor market will also be in the spotlight, with the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), ADP’s National Employment Report, and the Labor Department’s November nonfarm payrolls report. The latest updates on home prices will become available with the release of the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index and Freddie Mac’s House Price Index (HPI) for September. On Thursday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) will release its Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index for October, offering an update on consumer inflation.
Events Calendar:
Monday, November 28
- Pinduoduo Inc. (PDD) reports earnings
- Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index (Nov)
- Cyber Monday in the U.S.
Tuesday, November 29
- Intuit Inc. (INTU), Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS), Workday Inc. (WDAY), CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD), NetApp Inc. (NTAP), and Shaw Communications (SJR) report earnings
- S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (Sep)
- Freddie Mac House Price Index (Sep)
- CB Consumer Confidence Index (Nov)
Wednesday, November 30
- Salesforce (CRM), Royal Bank of Canada (RY), Synopsys Inc. (SNPS), Snowflake Inc. (SNOW), Hormel Foods Corp. (HRL), KE Holdings (BEKE), Splunk Inc. (SPLK), Pure Storage Inc. (PSTG), Five Below Inc. (FIVE), Okta Inc. (OKTA), Donaldson Company (DCI), PVH Corp. (PVH), Petco Health & Wellness Co. (WOOF), and La-Z-Boy Inc. (LZB) report earnings
- Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) Report (Oct)
- ADP National Employment Report (Nov)
- U.S. GDP Growth Rate – Second Estimate (Q3 2022)
- Real Consumer Spending – Quarterly Avg. (Q3 2022)
- PCE Price Index (Q3 2022)
- Corporate Profits (Q3 2022)
- Goods Trade Balance (Oct)
- Wholesale Inventories (Oct)
- Retail Inventories (Oct)
- Chicago PMI (Nov)
- Pending Home Sales (Nov)
- Fed Beige Book Release
Thursday, December 1
- Toronto Dominion Bank (TD), Bank of Montreal (BMO), Dollar General (DG), Marvell Technology (MRVL), The Kroger Company (KR), Veeva Systems (VEEV), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), UiPath (PATH), Smartsheet Inc. (SMAR), Asana Inc. (ASAN), Designer Brands Inc. (DBI), and Big Lots (BIG) report earnings
- PCE Price Index (Oct)
- Personal Income (Oct)
- Personal Spending (Oct)
- Construction Spending (Oct)
- S&P Global Manufacturing PMI – Final (Nov)
- ISM Manufacturing PMI (Nov)
Friday, December 2
- Nonfarm Payrolls Report (Nov)
*Click on the “First Slice” icon to read the full article! After you read the full article, come back and tell us your thoughts.