By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com -- Stocks fell back but were still trading near their record highs on Tuesday, wrapping up a strong August with S&P 500 on track for a seventh straight month of gains.
The S&P would mark its longest winning streak since 2018, adding a 3% gain in August.
A resilient economy and solid corporate earnings for the latest period have lifted U.S. stocks even though investors continue to be wary about the stage of the pandemic and the direction of monetary policy.
August payrolls data due to be released later in the week could set the tone for trading in September, when the Fed will once again meet to discuss the state of the economy.
U.S. consumer confidence tumbled to a six-month low in August on concern the spike in Covid cases linked to the Delta variant would throw cold water on the recovery.
The Conference Board’s survey, released Tuesday, said consumers were less positive about the labor market and less inclined to buy a home, a vehicle, or a major household item. If that turns out to be the case, consumer spending will cool off this quarter after two successive quarters of big growth.
Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:
1. Spirit giant reports
Brown Forman (NYSE:BFb), the maker of Jack Daniels whiskey and Finlandia vodka, is expected to announce its first-quarter earnings per share of 39 cents on revenue of $830.12 million, according to analysts tracked by Investing.com.
2. Soup earnings
Pantry staple Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) is seen posting revenue of $1.81 billion and earnings per share of 47 cents for the fourth quarter.
3. ADP report
Job creation at private companies is likely to have roared back in August from the meek gain that happened in the prior month, according to expectations about the data to be released Wednesday from payroll processing firm ADP.
Employers added 613,000 positions for the month, a spike from July’s 330,000 which was also the smallest gain since February. The report comes out at 8:15 AM ET (1215 GMT).