To The Moon

US market last week’s performance was not uniform across the board (see above). DJIA: +2.10% to 35,227.69. Rallied 10 days non-stop, its longest rally since 2017. S&P 500: +0.69% to 4,536.34. Index is a mere 5.4% below its all-time peak. Nasdaq: -0.57% to 14,032.81. Strongest YTD index of the three at +35.66% gain. Apart from Dow Jones index enjoying a 10-day rally, below 2 Funds have also enjoyed 4 days of uninterrupted gains: Energy ( $Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund(XLE)$) Health Care ( $Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund(XLV)$). I think, US market performance this week will continue to be influenced by: Q2 2023 earnings report. Official data on US economy. July 2023 interest hike. Quarterly Earnings Summary. So far, 18% of S&P 500 companies have reported their Q2 2023 earnings: Of which, 75% have reported earnings per share above estimates. According to FactSet, this is slightly below the 5-year average of “78%”. Is this good, bad or mixed news? Leave you to draw your own conclusions. Last week earnings results were mainly Bank stocks. Companies’ earnings (this week) will mainly be from: Technology - 25 Jul - Microsoft, Google, Microsoft, Texas Instrument. 26 Jul - Meta Platform. 27 Jul - Amazon, Intel Corp. Credit services - 25 Jul - Visa. 27 Jul - Mastercard. Energy - 25 Jul - NexEra Energy. 27 Jul - Shell Petroluem. 28 Jul - Exxon Mobil, Chevron. Official data out this week that may influenced US market performance are: 25 Jul - Conference Board Consumer Confidence economic data. 26 Jul - New home sales (Jun 2023). 27 Jul - Q2 2023 GDP, first estimate. Weekly jobless claims. 28 Jul - Personal Consumption Expenditure June 2023. They reveal: How is US economy performing? How is consumers’ confidence, in the face of inflation and job loss. Is inflation decelerating? July 2023 FOMC Meeting - Blackout period 15 Jul to 27 Jul FOMC blackout period is enforced since Sat, 15 Jul 2023 (see above). It ends this Thu, 27 Jul 2023. This explain why there is hardly any socialization news from Fed members. Fed officials would be able to comment from Friday onwards. CME FedWatch tool as of 24 Jul 2023 The CME FedWatch tool (see above) indicates market is placing a 99.8% probability that the Fed will raise interest further when it convenes tomorrow. When the hike is confirmed, the “new” interest rate range will be between 5.25% & 5.5%. This will bring the Fed funds rate to its highest level since 2001. Will US market: React “negatively” to the interest hike, despite Fed’s prior socialization. No reaction as Wall Street has already factor in the interest hike earlier on. What Would Be Good Buy? Consider “defensive” stocks to fortify one’s portfolio, making it resilient? For considerations: (only) Beaten-down Energy stocks ( $Chevron(CVX)$ , $Exxon Mobil(XOM)$ ) Utility stock ($NextEra(NEE)$, American Water Works Company, Inc. ($AWK)). Do you think the above 3 elements will be dictating US market performances this week? Do you think adding Energy or Utility stocks is a good hedge against a mild recession? Please give a “LIKe”, “Share” & “Re-post” ok. Thanks. Rating is very important (to me). Would you consider “Follow me” to get firsthand read of my daily new posts? Thanks! @TigerPM @TigerStars @Tiger_SG @Daily_Discussion @TigerEvents