This Is Going to Be a Big Week for Markets

Wall Street is in the midst of earnings season, and the results so far have been unprecedented. Roughly a quarter of S&P 500 companies have reported second-quarter results, and 88% have come in better than expected, reports Axios. If that trend holds up, it would be the highest percentage since FactSet started collecting data in 2008. What's more, companies aren't just beating expectations, they're crushing them. Earnings are coming in 19% higher than analysts' forecasts, well above the five-year average of 7.8%. This week will be the big test, however, given that 165 companies in the S&P index report earnings, including heavyweights Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, and Tesla, notes CNBC.

• A prediction: Strong earnings reports generally result in a rising stock market. “I think earnings are going to be the show, and if the pattern we’ve seen thus far continues next week, and it’s likely it will, that’s going to find a market that has a path of least resistance to the upside and I think that’s good news,” Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities, tells the network.
• A big week: Monday marks the start of what CNBC calls "one of the biggest markets weeks of the summer." In addition to earnings reports, the Fed meets Tuesday and Wednesday, and new GDP numbers are out on Thursday. The following day, an important inflation index comes out.
• Bitcoin jumps: The cryptocurrency market is popping again. Bitcoin rose above 39,000 on Sunday, a six-week high, notes the Wall Street Journal. One possible factor: Rumors that Amazon might start accepting payments or even develop its own cryptocurrency.

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