Iran rejects U.S. war proposal, says no talks before conditions met
Stocks have been up and down lately, with last week being a down week. Does that mean stocks will head north during this Memorial Day-shortened week?
Last week, stocks were down across the board as the S&P 500 fell 2.6%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.5%, the Nasdaq Composite plummeted 2.5%, and the Russell 2000 sank 3.4%.
For the year, the S&P 500 is down 1.3%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is off 2.2%, the Nasdaq Composite has plunged 3%, and the Russell 2000 has decreased 8.4%.
First quarter earnings have slowed, but there is one really big name to report earnings this week – NVIDIA.
NVIDIA Reports Earnings on Wednesday
All eyes will be focused this week on Wednesday after the closing bell when NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), the AI stock juggernaut reports earnings.
NVIDIA stock is down about 2% year-to-date, trading at $131 per share. But it has clawed back some gains in the past month since the pause on tariffs. NVIDIA had hit a low of $86 per share on April 4, at which point NVIDIA was down about 36% YTD. But in the past month, NVIDIA has rallied, gaining 27% in that span.
Analysts are targeting revenue of $43.2 billion in the quarter, a 66% year-over-year increase, while earnings are expected to be 73 cents per share, a 20% year-over-year jump. One thing that investors will be looking for is any impact on sales related to restrictions on importing into China.
NVIDIA is not the only big name to report earnings this week, as Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) issues its first quarter results on Wednesday after the closing bell. Analysts expect Salesforce to generate revenue of $9.7 billion, a 6.6% year-over-year increase, and earnings of $2.55 per share, a 4.5% increase. PC maker HP (NYSE:HPQ) also reports earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday.
Other notable companies to release erarning this week are Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS), which just announced plan to buy Foot Locker (NYSE:FL), and Macy’s (NYSE:M), both of which report Wednesday morning.
Dividend King Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) and big box store Costco (NASDAQ:COST) report earnings on Thursday, along with computer manufacturer Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) and semiconductor stock Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL).
PCE Inflation on Friday
This week also features the release of some key economic indicators. On Tuesday morning, the Consumer Confidence index is released. With the economy slowing, consumer confidence has been plummeting, dropping for five straight months.
On Wednesday, the first revision of the first quarter GDP comes out, so there could be more details on economic growth. In the first quarter, the economy shrank, with the GDP decreasing 0.3%.
Finally, on Friday, the PCE inflation report is released, tracking inflation rates in April. The PCE dropped to 2.3% in March and economists expect it to fall to 2.2% in April.
Another decline in the PCE inflation rate could influence the Fed to lower interest rates, although the impact of tariffs on inflation remains a concern.
