Stocks Up Last Week On Favorable Inflation Reports, Focus Shifts To Earnings  Image: Bigstock Stocks closed mixed on Friday, but higher for the week, with the S&P and Nasdaq making new YTD weekly highs and closes. Better than expected inflation reports last week from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) (retail inflation), and the Producer Price Index (PPI) (wholesale inflation), were cheered by investors. It also provided hope that the Fed, which is widely expected to raise rates by another 25 basis points when they next meet on July 25-26, will call it quits after that, forgoing an additional 25 bps that's been speculated on for their September meeting. The next Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report (which is the Fed's preferred inflation gauge), won't come out until July 28, two days after the Fed's FOMC announcement. And while it's too late to impact July's announcement, it could very well play a role in what happens in September. In fact, so will the additional CPI, PPI, and Employment reports leading up to September's meeting. But that's still a ways away. For now, however, stocks are enjoying easing inflation, continuing strength in the jobs market, and a resilient economy. Not to mention an upbeat consumer, as evidenced by last week's Consumer Sentiment report which rose 12.7% to 72.6, its best reading in nearly 2 years (September 2021). The focus this week will shift to earnings as Q2 earnings season kicks into gear. There are 295 companies on deck for this week, with marquee names like Tesla, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Netflix set to report. And then another 984 next week, with tech heavyweights Microsoft, Alphabet (aka Google), Amazon, and Meta in queue. After a record first half, stocks are already off to a solid start for the second half. And since stocks typically go up during earnings season, it's looking like the second half could get even better in the coming weeks. So make sure you're taking full advantage of it. See you tomorrow,  Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research | 
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