The second half of 2020 is nearly here, and now it’s up to the economy to prove that the stock market was right about a sharp comeback in growth. The first big test will be the June jobs report, out on Thursday instead of its usual Friday release due to the July 4 holiday. According to Refinitiv, economists expect 3 million jobs were created, after May’s surprise gain of 2.5 million payrolls beat forecasts by a whopping 10 million jobs. “If it’s stronger, it will suggest that the improvement is quicker, and that’s kind of what we saw in May with better retail sales, confidence was coming back a little and auto sales were better,” said Kevin Cummins, chief U.S. economist at NatWest Markets. The second quarter winds down in the week ahead as investors are hopeful about the recovery but warily eyeing rising cases of COVID-19 in a number of states. Stocks were lower for the week, as markets reacted to rising cases in Texas, Florida and other states. Investors worry about the threat to the economic rebound as those states move to curb some activities. The S&P 500 is up more than 16% so far for the second quarter, and it is down nearly 7% for the year. Friday’s losses wiped out the last of the index’s June gain. It’s going to be another wild week in the market!
FedEx (FDX) – One of the stocks I am watching this week for earnings. As delivers are in demand I believe FedEx doesn’t get hit as much as people think. Although Amazon and other major retailers are looking to create there own delivery routes and fulfillment services cutting FedEx’s competitive edge down quite a bit. I see an earnings miss which doesn’t say much in this environment.
Micron Technology (MU) – This chip maker is great to keep an eye out for. Earnings are this week and we could see a decent spike on surprise earnings. Demand for technology seems to only be going up.
Wayfair (W) – A darling of the “COVID-19” pandemic, this stock is set to see some turbulence due to its incredibly quick rise to stardom. I’ve heard whispers about customer price gouging among other bad customer service behaviors. Pure volatility play this week as they pulled back 10% from all time highs.
Zoom Communications (ZM) – I’ve been a well documented bear in this stock and nothing has really changed for me here. I am still building a short position and will take profits on any dips I see going forward. My price target is definitely sub $200.00 dollars some time this year!
Boeing (BA) – Americas plane company is testing the 737 max again this week. Depending on the results we can definitely expect some volatility in either direction with a bias short. Are we ready for lift off?
Bearish 3X Leveraged Big Banks (BNKD) – Banks failed last weeks stress test. If that’s any indication going forward I would think it prudent to hope on this wave before it becomes common knowledge market wide that banks will struggle going forward.
