Hello friends and Fortune readers,
This week, the stock market will look to continue its recent upward trend despite uncertainty stemming from global turmoil. Earnings season is ramping up, with loads of Fortune 500 companies reporting their latest quarterly results this week, including several major players in the banking and tech industries. Meanwhile, fans of comic books, films, and TV will gather in San Diego for the annual Comic-Con International, while Republicans will be gathering Cleveland, where Donald Trump is expected to accept the party’s nomination for president.
Here’s what you need to know for the week ahead.
1. U.S. Stocks
The stock market ended last week on a flat note amid global uncertainty in the wake of the Nice, France terrorist attack, as well as a military coup in Turkey. Still, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to close the week at a new record high, while both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite finished up for the week, with the former not far off its own all-time record close. This week, the markets will weigh the aftereffects of global turmoil, while new U.S. economic data will also be of interest to investors. On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau will report on housing starts for the month of June, while last month’s existing home sales will be reported on Thursday.
2. Republican National Convention
Billionaire and former reality TV star Donald Trump is expected to accept the GOP nomination for president this week, with the Republican National Convention getting underway in Cleveland on Monday. On Friday, Trump officially announced (on Twitter) that his running mate will be Indiana Governor Mike Pence. The four-day party gathering is slated to feature a line-up of speakers—including Trump’s wife and children—leading up to Thursday’s nomination. However, a long list of high-profile Trump backers have reportedly declined to speak at the convention, such as NFL star Tom Brady, while the GOP is also reportedly facing money issues at the convention, as a number of sponsors have pulled their donations in opposition of Trump.
3. Bank earnings: Bank of America, Goldman
On Monday, Bank of America is expected to post relatively flat earnings despite a dip in second-quarter revenue. The country’s second-largest bank by assets, Bank of America’s trading business likely had a sluggish quarter, while the bank also saw a drop-off in M&A and IPO activity. Goldman Sachs likely saw a bump in second-quarter profit, partially due to a weak showing in the same quarter in 2015, when the banking giant absorbed significant legal costs. Morgan Stanley also reports second-quarter results this week, as investors will be interested to see if all of the banks can post stronger than expected numbers despite the global market turmoil stemming from last month’s U.K. decision to leave the European Union. Last week, JPMorgan Chase reported surprisingly strong second-quarter numbers in spite of fears over Brexit fallout in the banking sector.
4. Tech earnings: IBM, Microsoft, Yahoo
Final bids for Yahoo’s auction of its core assets are due on Monday, which is also when Yahoo is likely to report second-quarter profit that falls short of Wall Street’s estimates and investors will be looking for any updates on the struggling company’s sale process. Also on Monday, IBM is expected to report a dip in second-quarter revenue, as investors will want to know the ramifications of Brexit for the tech giant, which counts on Europe for roughly one-third of its business. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Microsoft (MSFT) will likely report second-quarter sales and profit that beat analysts’ expectations, as the company’s cloud business continues to grow and counteract the decline in demand for the Windows operating systems among PC users.
Intel, EMC, and Netflix are among the other major tech companies reporting earnings this week, while a slew of Fortune 500 companies will also be reporting, including American Express, General Electric, General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth Group, and Visa.
5. San Diego Comic Con
Fans of comics, film, and TV franchises from Star Trek to The Walking Dead will gather in San Diego this week, starting on Thursday, for the 2016 Comic-Con International. The annual convention its fair share of entertainment industry news, as film and TV studios, along with other content producers, tease previews of upcoming releases. Walt Disney’s Marvel will preview some of its new properties, including Netflix’s Luke Cage series, while Warner Bros. will be offering previews of some of its upcoming superhero films, such as Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, and The LEGO Batman Movie. Meanwhile, the focus will also be on comic books (the key element of the convention that started in 1970) after the industry recently saw its best month for comics sales in nearly two decades.
—Reuters contributed to this article.
