Stocks Up Yesterday, All Eyes On This Morning's Apple Event  Image: Bigstock All of the major indexes closed higher yesterday with the tech-heavy Nasdaq leading the way with a 1.14% gain. There was not much in the way of economic reports out yesterday. But the effects from the previous week's inflation report (which ticked slightly higher), and the employment report (which cooled a bit, yet came in strong), still managed to influence trading. Although, the market will have plenty of new information to consider when we get two new inflation reports later this week: the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday, September 13, and the Producer Price Index (PPI) on Thursday, September 14. Last month's CPI and PPI reports were a mixed bag with the CPI coming in slightly better than expected, while the PPI came in slightly worse than expected. Two important reports given that the Fed insists they will remain data dependent when it comes to monetary policy in regard to inflation. The Fed meets next week on September 19-20. At the moment, the odds of a rate hike are only at roughly 5%. But the odds shift to a 40% chance for a hike when they meet in November. While the die might be cast for the upcoming meeting (barring some significant data surprises), it's still up in the air what happens afterwards. (There's also a meeting in December as well.) But before all that, all eyes will be on Apple this morning as they will be unveiling their new iPhone 15. Apple has a lot riding on the success of its newest iPhone. Especially with Apple's revenue declining for the last 3 quarters, and iPhone sales declining for the last 2 quarters, not to mention reports that China will ban government officials from using iPhones for work, or even bringing them into the office. In addition to seeing the new features Apple has in store for its iPhone 15, investors and analysts will also be listening for confirmation on reports that Apple plans to raise the prices on the new phone, and drop the Lightning charger that's currently used for iPhones and switch to the USB-C format for the new phones. That could help bolster revenue. But could also keep some people away, forcing them to put off upgrading their phone until they absolutely have to. The Apple event starts at 10:00 AM PST. Should be a busy day in what looks to be a busy week. See you tomorrow,  Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research | 
Post a Comment
Post a Comment