Consumer confidence soared to a record high in October and we will see how it reflects on the overall U.S. retail sector as a number of earnings reports from major retailers hit the market this week.
Major retail giants like Home Depot, Inc. (HD ), Target Corporation (TGT ), and consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY ) are scheduled to report their Q3 2017 earnings this week and the market is expecting some upside potential to their stocks based on the strong consumer sector.
In terms of dividend payments, Target Corporation is considered to be one of the highest-yielding companies in the retail industry, but analysts are expecting them to post a much lower EPS in Q3 2017 compared to last year. Besides Target, other major retailers seem to have done well for themselves as the strong labor market has provided ample disposable income for consumers to spend in their stores.
In summary, after a few weeks of tentative price action, we may see the Dow push for a new high if some of these retail segment earnings beat their respective estimates.
Check out last week’s Market Glance here, in which investors scrutinized earnings reports of large pharmaceutical companies.
