Bank earnings are strong this morning, with all major banks trading higher in early trading. Let’s see how they close. I’ve been saying all week that the problem won’t necessarily be earnings, but valuations. Look at Delta. Delta’s second quarter earnings yesterday couldn’t have been better. The Atlanta-based carrier opened to a new 52-week high and, within minutes, waves of sell orders were pouring in. Delta ended the day down slightly. JPMorgan also hit a new high this week and is also trading early with strong results. Let’s see how it closes. The market is indeed widening Good news now: the market is indeed (finally) widening. New highs this week in the S&P 500 aren’t just happening because tech stocks are strong. Top Sectors This Week (as of Thursday close) S&P 500 +1.3% Banks +5.8% Metals/Mining +4.1% Energy +3.4% Technology +2.9% Consumer Staples + 0.8% Healthcare +0.5% The main laggards are the defensive sectors — consumer staples and healthcare. But if the soft landing is a reality, you don’t want defensive sectors to be leaders, do you? You want growth and cyclicals to lead, and that is exactly what is happening. Another Expanded IPO Begins Trading Today on Nasdaq Finally, the modest IPO reopening continues. Apogee Therapeutics (APGE), which specializes in treating inflammatory diseases, priced 17.7 million shares at $17, well above the announced price of 15.63 million shares at $15-17 . That’s about $300 million raised, the second-largest offering for a biotech in 2023. As for the ETF IPO, which had a miserable 2022, it’s up 43% year-to-date, far outperforming the S&P 500, and is now spitting distance from a 52-week high it hit in August of last year.
Earnings are coming in strong, but watch where the stocks close
By xjs53
