The broader U.S. equity indexes were in positive territory over the last 5 business days. The S&P 500 price return was 1.14%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average had a gain of .99% and the NASDAQ Composite Index had a small increase of .41%. On the Fixed Income side, the U.S. Aggregate Index inched higher by .13%.
Earnings season is coming to an end as 449 companies of the S&P 500 have reported. Of the companies that reported, 78% beat the analyst estimates.
As mentioned in our last newsletter, Disney reported earnings this week. They missed analyst expectations slightly, but Robert explained on CNBC this week why he thought the numbers were better than they appeared. He also stated that the future is more important than the present for Disney investors and that the pipeline looks very strong. In case you missed it live, here is the link.
The always eagerly awaited U.S. job numbers were released last Friday. Nonfarm Payroll numbers came in under expectations: 157,000 new hires vs. street estimates of 194,000. The U.S. unemployment rate ticked down from 4.0% in June to 3.9% in July, which was in line with the consensus view.
The Week Ahead
Next week we will report the Consumer Price Index number and Retail Sales. We are keeping an eye out on both figures to provide guidance on the health of the U.S. economy.
-Luis Galmadez, Director of Research and Trading, Surevest Private Wealth
