What happened this week

Stocks opened Monday morning slightly higher, as investors hope for a slowing of rates hikes by the Fed. This comes after last Friday’s press conference with Fed Governor, Chris Wallace, where he indicated only a quarter point rate hike at the Fed’s next meeting. Investors took this as good news showing the potential end of the rate hiking cycle and even the potential for cuts further down the line. 

This week continues the earnings reports, with almost 40% of the Dow Companies schedule to release earnings results this week:

Tues: Johnson & Johnson, GE, Lockheed Martin, Verizon, Microsoft

Wed: AT&T, Boeing, Tesla, IBM

Thurs: Comcast, Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, JetBlue, Intel

Goldman Sachs announced this week a massive cut to its Alternative Investments which negatively impacted results this quarter, their fourth quarter earnings missed expectations by a significant margin. The bank also is in the process of firing 3,000 employees, in the largest round of layoffs since the 2008 financial crisis. 

Looking ahead to this week:

Mon Jan 23: Leading economic Indicators

Tues Jan 24: S&P US Manufacturing PMI

Thurs Jan 26: Initial Jobless claims, Real GDP first estimate, Durable Goods, New Home Sales

Fri Jan 27: Real consumer spending, PCE Price Index