As week three of the August result season comes to an end, FNArena will have by the end of today covered around half of a seasonal average of 320 reporting companies under database coverage. That gives you some indication of just how crazy next week will be, as it is every season.
We must also now be wary of the growing number of stocks going ex-dividend after having reported earlier in the season. This implies an opening handicap to each day’s trade, although the floodgates don’t really open until next month.
On the economic front, the highlight locally next week will be the countdown to the June quarter GDP result due early September. We’ll see quarterly numbers for construction work done and private sector capex.
The US will see the first revision of June quarter GDP, but Wall Street has long ago moved on. Any change to -33% is immaterial.
The US will also see numbers for consumer confidence, new and pending home sales, durable goods orders and personal income & spending.
The latter includes a measure of PCE inflation, which is the Fed’s inflation benchmark. Wall Street is now closely monitoring any signs of inflation emerging as a result of low interest rates and rising consumer prices due to virus-related disruptions, although wages will continue to be a drag.
