Fed’s Jackson Hole gathering, Powell speech, retailer earnings in focus.
Palo Alto Networks is a buy with upbeat earnings, guidance on deck.
Lowe’s is a sell with weak profit growth, outlook expected.
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Stocks on Wall Street ended higher on Friday to cap off the best week of 2024 after encouraging U.S. economic data helped soothe fears of a recession.
Source: Investing.com
The benchmark jumped 3.9%, its best week since November 2023. The tech-heavy gained 5.2%, while the blue-chip added 2.9%.
Next week is expected to be another eventful one as attention turns to the Fed’s annual Economic Policy Symposium, which will take place in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, starting on Thursday.
Investors will scrutinize a speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell on Friday for clues on the outlook for interest rates. As of Sunday morning, investors see a of the Fed cutting rates by 25 basis points at its September meeting, and a 25% chance of an outsized 50-basis-point cut.
Source: Investing.com
Elsewhere, on the earnings docket, there are just a handful of corporate results due as Q2 earning season winds down, including a slew of retailers such as Target (NYSE:), TJX Companies (NYSE:), Lowe’s (NYSE:), and Macy’s (NYSE:). The tech sector has Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:), Snowflake (NYSE:), Workday (NASDAQ:), and Baidu (NASDAQ:) stepping into the earnings confessional.
Regardless of which direction the market goes, below I highlight one stock likely to be in demand and another which could see fresh downside. Remember though, my timeframe is just for the week ahead, Monday, August 19 – Friday, August 23.
Stock to Buy: Palo Alto Networks
I believe that Palo Alto Networks is poised for significant gains this week, as cybersecurity leader will likely report another quarter of upbeat top-and bottom-line growth and provide a solid outlook thanks to robust demand for its various cloud-delivered security services.
The Santa Clara, California-based company is scheduled to deliver its fiscal fourth quarter…
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