Stocks End Mixed, But Up For The Week With 2 Days To Go  Image: Bigstock Stocks closed mixed yesterday with the Dow in the green, and the S&P and Nasdaq in the red. The more than -35% plunge in Netflix sure didn't help the S&P and the Nasdaq. (The Dow was unscathed by them.) After the close on Tuesday, Netflix reported a decrease in subscribers (-200K) last quarter -- their first subscriber loss in more than a decade. And they are projected to shed another -2M next quarter. Shares tanked because of it. After the close yesterday, another marquee name, Tesla, reported decidedly better news. They reported a 49.8% positive EPS surprise, and an 8.57% positive sales surprise, as revenue soared by 81% vs. last year at this time. Shares were up 4% in after-hours trade. Alcoa also reported after the close, officially kicking off earnings season, posting a 2.34% positive EPS surprise, but a -5.80% negative sales surprise. Although, for perspective, revenue did rise 14.7% vs. last year at this time. And they reported a record quarterly profit. Shares were down -5% in after-hours trade. (BTW, Alcoa is only the so-called 'official' start of earnings season because it was once the first Dow component to report earnings. Just like Hewlett-Packard has been called the official end of earnings season because it used to be the last of the Dow components to report earnings. Ironically, both AA and HPQ are no longer part of the Dow Jones Index. But after bookending earnings season for so long, that tradition has stuck, regardless of their current Dow non-membership status.) In other news, yesterday's MBA Mortgage Applications fell -5.0% with purchases down -3.0% and refi's down -8.0%. Existing Home Sales came in at 5.77 million units (annualized) vs. last month's 5.93M and views for 5.86M. That's down -2.7% m/m and -4.5% y/y. The Beige Book report showed the economy continued to grow, and that the labor market remains strong. But inflation remains elevated and "firms in most districts expected inflationary pressures to continue over the coming months." Today we'll get Weekly Jobless Claims, the Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index, and Leading Indicators. We'll also hear from Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, as he speaks at the Volcker Alliance and Penn Institute for Urban Research in the morning, then at the International Monetary Fund Debate on the Global Economy in the afternoon. While he's not expected to make any market moving comments, everybody will be listening nonetheless. Especially with the next FOMC meeting less than 2 weeks away. At the moment, the market is expecting the Fed to raise rates by 50 basis points to help curb inflation. They also hinted they could begin reducing their balance sheet as early as this next meeting as well. But the expected increase in rates should be cheered. Because the biggest threat to the economy right now is runaway inflation. And the moves to tamp that down will only serve to strengthen the economic outlook, not harm it. In fact, Jerome Powell, said he thought the economy would "flourish in the face of less accommodative monetary policy." And why wouldn't it? The economy remains strong, incomes are strong, consumer demand is strong, the labor market is strong, and corporate earnings are strong. And that's why it looks like there's a lot more upside to go for both the economy and the market. To learn how to take advantage of the next leg up, be sure to read our latest commentary... Getting Ready For The Next Leg Up Best,  Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research | 
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