New York, United States – Investors looking to stay ahead of the stock market can benefit from subscribing to Seeking Alpha’s Stocks to Watch newsletter. This preview highlights key events scheduled for the upcoming week, ensuring readers are informed of major stories poised to grab headlines, such as upcoming IPOs, investor days, earnings reports, and conference presentations.
In the U.S., the main economic focus for the holiday-shortened week will be the release of the jobs report on Friday. Analysts anticipate a slowdown in payroll gains from 272K in May to 200K in June, with the unemployment rate expected to hold steady at 4.0%. Additionally, average hourly earnings growth is forecasted to slow to a +0.3% month-over-month pace. Preceding the Friday report are JOLTS and ADP data to be released on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. Bank of America suggests a gentle cooling in the U.S. labor market as job availability remains favorable, particularly with signs of improvement in young adult unemployment rates.
While earnings schedules are light for the holiday week, companies like Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) and Polestar Automotive (NASDAQ: PSNY) are set to report their figures. As for events, the opening of Universal Studio’s (CMCSA) Despicable Me 4 is among the few anticipated catalysts. On a broader scale, corporate buybacks are expected to diminish as earnings blackout periods increase, with nearly half of S&P 500 Index market cap companies expected to enter blackout periods by the week’s end. Simultaneously, events such as the first round of the French legislative elections and the UK general election could impact European stocks.
Earnings spotlights for the week include MSC Industrial (MSM), Polestar Automotive (PSNY), and Simulations Plus (SLP) on Tuesday, and Constellation Brands (STZ) on Wednesday. The volatility watch reveals increased options trading volume in companies like Grindr (GRND) and Virgin Galactic (SPCE), with significant movements noted among both overbought and oversold stocks based on the 14-day relative strength index.
Furthermore, the IPO market remains quiet for the holiday-shortened week, with various companies like Life360 (LIF) and Gauzy (GAUZ) seeing their quiet periods expire. Dividend watchers will track companies like JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) and Progressive (PGR), while Tesla’s quarterly deliveries report is anticipated to show a decline, prompting analysts to adjust their estimates amid concerns over consumer demand and market registration data from Europe and China.
Overall, investors will closely monitor various auto industry reports from companies like NIO (NIO), XPeng (XPEV), and General Motors (GM) to gauge market performance. Additionally, the upcoming theme park consolidation situation between Six Flags Entertainment (SIX) and Cedar Fair (FUN) is expected to unlock significant value, highlighting potential benefits from this merger for both companies.
