Quiet start to the new week as earning season beginsAfter gaining 5% last week the markets are relatively tame to start earnings season. Tokyo closed down 39 basis points while London is up 20 bps and S&P futures are down 40 bps. Alcoa kicks off 2nd quarter earnings season (NYSE:AA) reporting after the close today with earnings of $0.12 expected while whisper numbers are targeting a report of $0.13 per share.
For the week ahead we see:
Tuesday ATC Intel (NASDAQ:INTC)
Thursday BTO JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM)
Thursday ATC Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)
Friday BTO Citigroup (NYSE:C)
Friday BTO Bank of America (NYSE:BAC)
Friday BTO General Electric (NYSE:GE)
The S&P 500 gained 5.4% last week with a three-day string of gains to end the week challenging the 1,080 level. The VIX dropped markedly back below 25% to close the week. The market continues to trade on one-way streets. The S&P fell for 10 days losing 10%, spent a couple days consolidating and then surged 5% last week in a straight up rally. Volatility remains high and the start to earnings season this week will begin to paint a picture of the recovery relative to all our recent worries.
Spain takes the World Cup 1-0, deservedly
In a sloppy game filled with an excessive number of yellow cards, the Netherlands and Spain battled for 116 minutes before Iniesta finally found himself with plenty of time and expertly placed a full volley to the back post past the keeper. Overall I think Spain was the better team in the match even though it was difficult to chose given the lack of beauty for either side's play.
I give a strong vote for David Villa as the World Cup MVP. While he couldn't find the net in yesterday's game, he scored 5 of Spain's 8 total goals in the Cup and was a constant play-maker throughout the tournament. He was simply a complete pain to defend and consistently created opportunities.
Disclosure: Long SPY with protective puts.