Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:
1. Best of the year
The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its best week of 2024 so far with a 2.16% gain. It was also the index’s fourth weekly gain in a row. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also had winning weeks, adding 1.85% and 1.14%, respectively. Investors have been enthusiastic lately since Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated rate hikes are likely off the table. But some of that exuberance was kept in check after consumer sentiment data released Friday morning showed a big uptick in inflation expectations. The next test will come with the release of April’s consumer price index, which is due Wednesday. Follow live market updates.
2. Earnings wind down
A Walmart logo is seen on the side of trailer outside of a Walmart fulfillment center. Walmart fulfillment center helps sellers store, manage, and ship their products. Walmart fulfillment centers are similar to Amazon’s Fulfillment by Amazon to stay competitive.
Gabe Ginsberg | Lightrocket | Getty Images
Earnings season is just about wrapped up. In fact, there are just seven S&P 500 companies set to report this week. Of the 92% of S&P 500 companies that have already reported, nearly 80% have beaten expectations. But the companies that are left could provide insights into how consumers are doing. Here are the earnings to watch this week:
3. Shein’s not in
Shoppers Ashley Sanchez, center, of Fontana, poses for her friend Joscelin Flores, not pictured, who was taking photos with their bags of merchandise after being among the first group of shoppers taking the opportunity to shop on the opening day of fast fashion e-commerce giant Shein, which is hosting a brick-and-mortar pop up inside Forever 21 at the Ontario Mills Mall in Ontario Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Allen J. Schaben | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
4. SoftBank’s vision
SoftBank’s Vision Fund posted a record loss in the year ended Mar. 31, 2023. The flagship tech investment unit has been hit by the falling prices of tech stocks.
Akio Kon | Bloomberg | Getty Images
SoftBank‘s Vision Fund, its flagship tech investment arm, posted its first annual gain in three years of 724.3 billion Japanese yen (US$4.6 billion). For the fiscal year, SoftBank’s Vision Fund swung to a profit of 128.2 billion yen after a 4.3 trillion yen loss the year before. That recovery — in large part thanks to last year’s IPO of chip designer Arm, a subsidiary of Softbank — helped SoftBank Group swing to a profit in the fiscal fourth quarter that ended in March.
5. Secret sauce
The Sweetgreen logo is displayed at a Sweetgree restaurant on May 10, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
The restaurant industry has seen sales slump and traffic decline as customers pull back their spending. Fast-food restaurants have been hit especially hard, as low-income consumers become more budget conscious. In fact, McDonald’s is working to introduce a $5 value meal in U.S. stores to help offset the pullback. But fast-casual chains such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, Wingstop and Sweetgreen seem to be the exception to the trend. They say the higher-income consumers that frequent their stores aren’t as worried about spending, and they’re benefitting from being a better perceived value than some fast food restaurants.
— CNBC’s Pia Singh, Fred Imbert, Gabrielle Fonrouge, Arjun Kharpal, Kate Rogers and Amelia Lucas contributed to this report.
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