Stocks Closed Mostly Lower Yesterday, Earnings Continue To ImpressStocks closed mostly lower yesterday led by the Nasdaq, which gave up -1.47%, followed by the S&P with -0.51%.
Semiconductors and other AI-related names have been under pressure over the last several weeks after huge runups. Profit taking is not unexpected. Could be more. But the AI trade is alive and well. And given the insatiable demand for all things AI, it looks like the AI boom has years more to go. Legendary trader Paul Tudor Jones thinks so as well, saying that the AI-driven bull market still has "another year or two to run," and compared it to the late 1990's tech boom.
That has been my sentiment all along, and comports with my expectation that we see 5 years in a row of double-digit market gains, just like we did in the 1995-1999 dot-com boom. This year (2026), would be year 4, while 2027 would be year 5. But nobody says it has to stop there. With AI being touted as the most transformational tech breakthrough ever, it could very well last much longer. In other news, yesterday's Weekly Jobless Claims fell -8,000 to 208,000 vs. last month's 216,000 and views for 220,000. Retail Sales were up 0.2% vs. last month's 1.0% and estimates for 0.3%. Ex-Vehicles it was down -0.2% vs. last month's 1.0% and forecast for -0.1%. Ex-Vehicles & Gas it was up 0.4% vs. last month's 0.8% and outlook for 0.3%. The Pending Home Sales Index was down -5.4% m/m vs. last month's 3.5% and outlook for 0.0%. The Index itself came in at 72.5 vs. last month's 76.6. The Housing Market Index was at 34 vs. last month's upwardly revised 36 (from 35) and the consensus for 35. Business Inventories were up 0.3% m/m vs. last month's 0.6% and views for 0.3%. Manufacturing Inventories were up 0.2% vs. last month's 0.3%. Retail Inventories were up 0.6% vs. last month's 0.7%. And Wholesale Inventories were up 0.1% vs. last month's 0.7%. And the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index jumped to 41.4 vs. last month's 10.3 and estimate for 14.0. Today we'll get the Housing Starts and Permits Report, Import and Export Prices, Industrial Production, and the Consumer Sentiment Report. And earnings season continues. Yesterday's earnings reports from big banks continued to impress, this time with U.S. Bancorp, State Street, and Citizens Financial posting both positive EPS and Sales surprises. And they all showed double-digit EPS growth rates (quarter vs. same quarter a year ago) with USB up 21.6%, STT up 44.3%, and CFG up 41.3%. Banks weren't the only ones delivering. UnitedHealth Group posted a positive EPS surprise of 29.2%, and a positive sales surprise of 1.73%. That translated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of 56.4%, and a sales growth of 0.4%. And Abbott Labs posted a positive EPS surprise of 2.34%, and a positive sales surprise of 0.91%, for a quarterly EPS growth rate of 3.97%, and a sales growth of 13%. Today we'll hear from another 34 companies, including The Travelers Companies, Fifth Third Bancorp, and Truist Financial, to name a few. And of course, everybody will be watching developments in the Middle East. Best,  Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research |
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