By Liz Moyer
Investing.com -- Investors wouldn't let bad news on the coronavirus front keep them from focusing their energies on high-flying Internet companies.
Monday's gains come after the major indexes closed out their best quarter in decades, with the S&P 500 up 20% and the NASDAQ Composite soaring more than 30% for the three months ended June 30. The markets have regained much of the terrain lost when Covid-19 forced businesses, cities, and schools to shut down across the country in March.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), two companies that benefited from consumers forced to stay home and order items and entertainment over the Internet, led Monday's surge. Both achieved record highs. But it remains to be seen what the rest of the week will hold for stocks, as analysts cut their outlooks on new lockdown concerns.
Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:
1. More Data on the Direction of Employment
At 10:00 AM ET (1400 GMT) on Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its latest JOLTS job opening data.
Analysts tracked by Investing.com expect to see 4.85 million, which would be less than the 5 million reported for the previous month. The survey helps measure job vacancies and recruiting trends.
JOLTs comes on the heels of a stronger than expected rebound in jobs, but pandemic-era unemployment is still at post-World War II highs.
2. Another Round of Oil Inventory Estimates
Later on Tuesday, the oil industry will release its inventory estimates for the previous week. The American Petroleum Institute's report, which comes out at 4:30 PM ET, is watched closely because it comes out right before the government's data the following day.
API's estimate for the previous week showed a draw of 8.1 million barrels. There were concerns brewing on Monday that this week's estimate could show a reversal or disappoint on the low end, as a fresh wave of coronavirus infections forced a pause in business reopening plans across the country.
Market intelligence firm Genscape, as well as rival Seevol.com, suggested a substantial build in crude stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub that took delivery of oil delivered on expiring contracts of West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark.
3. Will the FANG Rally Last?
Technology stocks will be a focus for market watchers this week as FANG stocks are surging even as analysts downgrade stocks on fears that the coronavirus shutdowns have not ended.
BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), the world's largest asset manager, joined the fray on Monday, saying rising Covid-19 infections and the end of the government's economic stimulus efforts are risks for stocks in the near term. This comes as big stocks like Amazon and Netflix hit new record highs.
Amazon touched $3000, and Netflix reached $499.50 on Monday. The Nasdaq 100, which represents the index's top nonfinancial stocks is now up 20% for the year. Large FANG stocks also help push the S&P 500 up, as they are a major influence in that index