Stocks ended the last week in the red, due in part, to the threats that loomed
regarding the government shutdown. Crisis averted, for now. President Obama and
Congress worked out a temporary deal that will keep the government humming for a
short period. Overall last week, little action played out and stocks were
relatively flat. The Dow Jones ended at 12,380. The Nasdaq finished at 2,780.42
and the S&P 500 ended the last week at 1,328.17. Stock indicators should begin
to receive more of a push as earnings season is upon us. On Monday, an analysis
report on the Dow components is due. No other major economic reports are due out
this day. On Tuesday, the monthly report on federal revenue and spending is due
to post. In addition on this day, the U.S. trade balance and export and import
prices will post. Also in late afternoon, the Federal Reserve will post its
Beige Book report to give investors a glimpse at the overall state and health of
the economy. On Wednesday, the Mortgage Bankers Association will report on
mortgage applications and this report is expected to be flat or negative. The
housing sector has been weak for a while and little evidence at this time
suggests that the report will show any dramatic improvements. The Commerce
Department will report on retail sales in March, as well as the business
inventories report. On Thursday, the Labor Department will report on initial
jobless claims and the Producer Price Index report from March. We will see the
Consumer Price Index report from the Labor Department for March on Friday. The
Federal Reserve Bank of New York will report its Empire Manufacturing Index on
the last trading session of the week as well. Also, we will get preliminary data
results from the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index report due this
day. Investors will keep a close eye on indicators as they attempt to process
and predict momentum swings. Negative pressure will still weigh on investors and
push index composites. A government shutdown is still a possibility and will be
on investors minds. The crisis in Japan will continue to apply negative pressure
to world markets. Rising crude price per barrel will definitely be a trend that
investors will observe closely. Rising interest rates is another variable
applying negative pressure in the current economic environment. Many variables
will play a part during this weeks open trading sessions to influence trading
and trending. Author: Frank Matto
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