After last week’s mixed bag, investors may be in for another listless and directionless week. So far, this quarter has seen both earnings and economic data points be neither all negative nor all positive, but, rather, split down the middle. Investors should expect that trend to continue.
On the data front, we’ll see some important measures this week, including GDP numbers, durable goods orders and housing figures. Investors will be looking for standard readings from these data points to justify much higher equity prices.
As for corporate profits, the “blitzkrieg” that is earnings season is coming to a close. This week will see some of the last bellwethers and major stocks reporting. The sheer number of reports will continue to trickle down through to the beginning of September. With not much to go on, investors could be content with drifting sideways for another week.
The wild card this week will be Janet Yellen. She’ll be preparing to give a talk about monetary policy at the Jackson Hole Summit this weekend. As always, her comments could shift the markets in either direction.
