Stocks Up Yesterday, And For The Month, Making it 5 Months In A Row For The S&P And Nasdaq  Image: Bigstock Stocks closed higher yesterday and for the month. It was the 5th up month in a row for the S&P and the Nasdaq, and the 2nd month in a row for the Dow (although, they were up 4 out of the last 5 months). The Dow ended the month with gains of 3.34%, the S&P with 3.11%, and the Nasdaq with 4.04%. Interestingly, the small-cap Russell 2000 led the month with a 6.05% gain. With a resilient economy, falling inflation, and the Fed nearing the end of their rate hike cycle, stocks continue to climb as the threat of recession is seemingly off the table, and the prospects of a soft landing seem more and more likely. And with earnings season already coming in better than expected, it looks like there's plenty more upside to go. In other news, the Chicago PMI report showed the index rising to 42.8 vs. last month's 41.5, but under the consensus for 43.5. The Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey showed the General Activity Index improved to -20.0 vs. last month's -23.2, and views for -22.5. The Production Index, however, slipped to -4.8 vs. last month's -4.2. Today we'll get the PMI Manufacturing Index, the ISM Manufacturing Index, Construction Spending, and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report (or JOLTS for short). And more earnings. This week is the busiest week of earnings. There's another 275 companies on deck to report today, including marquee names like Starbucks and Uber. Between today and the rest of the week, we'll hear from a total of 1,544 companies, including Apple and Amazon on Thursday after the close. Aside from earnings though, it's Friday's Employment Situation report that everybody will be watching. The Fed, while citing inflation for their monetary policy, continues to reference the strength in the jobs market as well. In fact, Mr. Powell has commented with seeming incredulity that rates have risen to 5% while the unemployment rate is still so low. Nobody wants to see jobs tank. But the market no longer needs to see extreme beats to cheer. Seeing moderating job gains and moderating hourly wage increases would be more welcomed than any blowout number. That comes out on Friday at 8:30 AM ET. In the meantime, it's all about earnings. And we'll get plenty of them. See you tomorrow,  Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research | 
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