The S&P 500 hovered in record territory following last week’s modest gains. This major US stock market index finished last Friday, August 13, at 4,468.00 points.
This trading conclusion led the S&P 500 to notch its own best-ever finish. We find this latest report about the S&P 500 having an optimistic tone and is worth sharing with our readers.
We believe learning about this development can aid them in their stock market trading activities this week. According to the report posted online by CNBC, a website delivering the latest real-time financial market coverage and business news, 87 percent of S&P 500 companies have reported positive earnings per share (EPS) surprises for the second calendar quarter of this year.
The news article indicated that this US stock market index figure would mark the highest percentage of S&P 500 firms reporting positive EPS surprises if 87 percent is the final percentage. This number is since FactSet started tracking this metric in 2008.
In an environment of light summertime trading volumes, the S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average or DJIA rounded out the week with muted gains of 0.7 percent for the former and 0.8 percent for the latter.
The DJIA ended last week at 35,515.38 points, which is a record close. Meanwhile, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite underperformed last week.
It was down merely under 0.1 percent. On Sunday evening, August 15, futures contracts linked to the major US stock market indices slipped.
Futures tied to the DJIA fell 141 points, while those linked to the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 also traded in negative territory. The moves in the overnight session yesterday came following the mostly positive trading week, as punctuated by closely watched corporate earnings and economic data.
Last week, investors digested mixed economic information. They will monitor upcoming economic details this week, including an update on retail sales tomorrow, Tuesday, August 17.
Then, on Wednesday, they will monitor the US Federal Reserve System’s latest meeting minutes’ scheduled release and housing starts. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was last recorded at 1.283 percent.
Meanwhile, bond yields dropped as their prices increased. We are pleased to learn about the S&P 500 reaching its own best-ever conclusion.
We think that, despite the various factors adversely impacting the US stock market, the major indices grounding to new records is still possible on the back of robust corporate earnings outcomes and other key factors.