The Week Ahead: The market will have no shortage of reports
to digest this week ahead of the midterm elections next week.
Monday starts with personal income and spending numbers for
September. Tuesday brings both the 3rd quarter employment cost
index and October's consumer confidence index. On Wednesday,
October auto sales, September construction spending, and weekly
crude oil and gasoline inventories are released. Thursday, 3rd
quarter productivity, labor costs, and September factory orders
come out. Finally, Friday's employment report will sum things
up in regards to overall economic health.
Stocks to Watch: Oil stocks could be poised for a resumption
of there longer term uptrend as Chevron's(CVX) 3rd quarter profit
rose 40% on higher production volume. One way to take advantage
of a potential rebound is through the United States Oil Fund
(USO) an electronically traded fund or ETF which looks poised
for a move higher after its recent downtrend. Vertex Pharmaceuticals
(VRTX) hepatitis C drug is showing promise as is its stock after
gapping higher and could be a buying candidate on any dips.
McAfee (MFE) reported higher 3rd quarter earnings and received
a recent analyst upgrade.
Special Note: The 3rd quarter GDP dropped to only 1.6% as the
housing sector fell 17%. Residential construction alone shaved
1% off growth. This combined with a widening trade deficit has
created a dichotomy between economic performance and stock market
performance in recent months. The further the economy slows,
the more difficult year over year earnings comparisons will
be for a large majority of companies. This sets up the potential
for many downside surprises for companies whose stock has risen
substantially over a short period of time. Investments should
be chosen selectively over different sectors and asset classes
and hedged where appropriate.
Commentary provided by Barry Ward, Registerd Principal, NobleTrading.com,
Inc.
To view all of NobleTrading's historical newsletters, click
here.
Click here to open
an account.
NobleTrading Direct Access Trading
