Hi all,

This week we got a good read on inflation with the PPI data on Tuesday and CPI data on Wednesday. The PPI data was lower than expected which showed inflation continuing to cool and this was a positive for market bulls. CPI data came in as expected.

The job opening shows the labor market is still good but not “too good” and WMT reported strong earnings. They commented that the consumer seemed to continue spending on bigger ticket items, not just groceries.

Markets have bounced a lot from the sell-off that ended on August 5th. We might see a bit of consolidation next week as markets digest the big gains from last week.

All ears will be on Fed Powell and his comments that he may make on Friday at the Jackson Hole summit. In the meantime, we will get a lot of earnings from some retailers like TJX, TGT, and M. Let's see if they are as upbeat as WMT in terms of the state of the consumer.

Recap Video

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Sectors in Play Last Week

• Technology and Consumer D were the biggest gaining sectors this week.
• Utilities and Real Estate were up the least this week.

Key Levels for this Week

• DOW (40,659) – support 40,000 and resistance 40,700
• QQQ (475) – support 457 and resistance 480
• SPY (554) – support 530 and resistance 560
• IWM (213) – support 196 and resistance 211

What to Watch for this Week

• Monday – 10:00 US Leading Economic Indicators
• Tuesday – nada
• Wednesday – 2:00 Minutes from July Fed meeting
• Thursday –8:30 Jobless claims and Manufacturing Surveys; 9:45 S&P Manufacturing and Services PMI
• Friday – 10:00 Powell speaking at Jackson Hole.

Earnings this week

• Monday – PANW post
• Tues – LOW pre and TOL post
• Wed – TJX, TGT, M pre and SNOW, ZM post
• Thurs – ROST, BIDU, DLTR pre and CAVA, WDAY, INTU post
• Friday – nada

Positions and Trades Last Week

The cash % level is high now. Waiting for new opportunities.

• BA – short $260 call position -expired Friday, kept premium. 
• GDX – long gold.
• NVDA – was long, small size remaining.
• PLTR – long, looks like a nice breakout.
• SOXL – small size remaining.
• TSLA – small size remaining.
• TLT – Short Sept $91 puts. 

Tracking for Potential Trades

• CMG – might be worth a look for a long on the CEO leaving news.
• LULU – possible gap fill to $275.
• NFLX – is very strong, heading back to an all-time high possibly.

 

Note: These are investments I am in or watching however, they may not be suitable for all investors. The author of this email is NOT an investment advisory service, a registered investment advisor, or a broker-dealer. I do NOT undertake to advise clients or recipients of this email on which securities they should buy or sell for themselves. This email is provided for information purposes only and traders should always consult with their licensed financial and tax advisors to determine the suitability of any investment.