Earnings, Powell

Good morning contrarians! Welcome to the Daily Contrarian, our morning look at events likely to move markets. It is Wednesday, Dec. 4. The Bottom Line segment of today’s podcast starts at (4:26) for listeners who want to skip ahead.

State of Play

Stocks didn’t move much yesterday but the S&P 500 did manage to eke out a gain to close at yet another fresh record high. As we eye our board of indicators for signs of direction at 0640, it appears that risk appetite remains healthy:

• Stock index futures are pointing to gains, led by tech. The Nasdaq is up 0.7% thanks in no small part to impressive Salesforce (CRM 0.00%↑) earnings last night. S&P 500 futures 0.3% to the good;

• Cryptos are rallying, which usually happens when tech rises, with Bitcoin up almost 2% to trade around $96,500;

• Bonds are seeing a little bit of selling with the 10-year yield up 3 basis points to 4.25% (yields move inversely to prices);

• Commodities aren’t doing much. WTI crude oil is up <0.5% to trade around $70/barrel. Copper is down 0.4%.

Today’s Known Events

We start with pre-market earnings releases:

• Dollar Tree (DLTR 0.00%↑), the source of much content in these parts, just beat estimates and is rocketing higher, much to The Contrarian’s relief;

• Foot Locker (FL 0.00%↑), another retailer, was due to report but has not yet as of this writing;

• Chewy (CHWY 0.00%↑) and Campbell Soup (CPB 0.00%↑) are imminent;

• Cracker Barrel Stores (CBRL 0.00%↑) is also due before the open at 0930;

After the close at 1600 we will hear from:

• Five Below (FIVE 0.00%↑), like DLTR an embattled discount retailer;

• Clothing retail outlet American Eagle Outfitters (AEO 0.00%↑);

• SentinelOne (S 0.00%↑), a cybersecurity company.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks at 1340 at the New York Times Dealbook Summit. It’s hard to see what Powell can say that will differ from his comments a few weeks ago, when he pledged that interest rate cuts would be measured. But investors will be watching closely anyway.

“Jerome Powell lecturing about nothing” by author via OpenArt.ai