There will be plenty of Q1 earnings in the first week of May and most large-cap companies seem to have done well in Q1 as year-over-year EPS growth forecasts suggest above-average bottom line growth for a number of companies releasing their earnings reports this week.
There is something more to the forecast of McDonald’s (MCD ) increasing their Q1 2018 EPS by 13.61% compared to last year. As a low-cost fast food chain, its sales figure also indicates a broader trend in the economy of how frugal consumers feel about going for its discounted burgers and dollar drinks. If that’s the case, then the U.S. economy is certainly doing great as MCD plans to open around 1,000 new restaurants in 2018.
No wonder the Fed is confident enough to hike rates two more times this year, but a soft Q1 GDP estimate might deter them from raising rates this week.
To sum up, while we continue to see bullish momentum returning to the market, unless the overall macroeconomic indicators improve a lot over April the stock market will likely continue to trade sideways despite evidence of fat corporate bottom lines.
Check out last week’s Market Glance here, in which investors showed optimism towards the U.S. banking industry.
