Stocks End Higher, Earnings In Focus, Fed On Deck For Wednesday

Plus 5 Just-Added Strong Buys Stocks End Higher, Earnings In Focus, Fed On Deck For Wednesday [Kevin Matras - EVP - Photo] Profit from the Pros By Kevin Matras Executive Vice President Stocks End Higher, Earnings In Focus, Fed On Deck For Wednesday [Stocks End Higher, Earnings In Focus, Fed On Deck For Wednesday]Image: Bigstock Stocks closed higher yesterday with the Dow leading the way. This was their 11th up day in a row, making it their longest winning streak since 2017. The Nasdaq-100's special rebalancing went off without a hitch before the market's open yesterday. Trading was normal. The Nasdaq-100 finished the day with a gain of 0.14%, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.19%. The 'Magnificent Seven' stocks (Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Amazon, Meta, Tesla, and Alphabet), which triggered the special rebalancing due to their weighting making up an overly large 55% of the index, were mostly higher yesterday with only Amazon and Meta finishing modestly lower. Whatever volatility was feared regarding the rebalancing, appeared to have taken place last week, before Monday's changes were made. In other news, the Chicago Fed National Activity Index slipped to -0.32 vs. last month's downwardly revised -0.28, and views for 0.03. The smoother 3-month moving average, however, came in at -0.16, which is an improvement from last month's downwardly revised -0.21. The PMI Composite report came in at 52.0 vs. last month's 53.2. The Manufacturing Index improved to 49.0 vs. last month's 46.3, and views for 46.0. The Services Index, however, declined to 52.4 vs. last month's 54.4, although it beat the consensus which had forecast 54.0. Today we'll get the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the FHFA House Price Index, the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index, and Consumer Confidence. The Fed's 2-day FOMC meeting also begins. Then tomorrow, at the conclusion of their meeting, they are widely expected to announce a 25 basis point rate hike, which would bring the midpoint of the Fed Funds rate to 5.38%. What everyone is really waiting for is what the Fed says about future rate hikes, particularly for September 20th, which is their next Fed meeting after July's. At the Fed's last meeting, they suggested rates could get to 5.60%, which would imply two more 25 basis point hikes. But with inflation starting to ease at a faster pace, some Fed watchers are thinking they could call it quits after the July meeting. But the Fed might be a bit more ambiguous on what happens next, especially with the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index (the Fed's preferred inflation gauge), coming out on Friday. Since that inflation reading has been showing a slower decline, and doesn't always move in lockstep with the CPI or PPI index, all eyes will be on Friday for clues as to what comes next. In the meantime, the markets will be focused on earnings. We've got 186 companies on deck to report today (including two of the 'Magnificent Seven' – Alphabet and Microsoft). All in all, we'll hear from 897 companies between today and the rest of the week. That list expands to 1,636 next week as earnings season heats up. So far, the week is off to a fine start. See you tomorrow, [Kevin Matras - Signature] Kevin Matras Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research [See Zacks' Top Stocks for Free]( Starting today, you can get instant access to the latest picks from our time-proven strategies which since 2000 have soared far above the market. While the S&P 500 averaged +6.2% per year, our top strategies averaged gains as high as +46.4%, +49.5% and +55.2% per year. You'll also get our free Special Report, Top 10 Stock Screening Strategies that Make Money which spells out the formulas behind these top strategies. 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