By Alexandra Scaggs
Stock investors clamoring to trade again will face a barrage of
market-moving data compressed into a shortened trading week when
the U.S. opening bell rings at 9:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday.
Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the East Coast early in the
week, leading to two days of stock-market closures--making it four
days without stock trading--during a particularly busy stretch for
markets. This week is loaded with company earnings reports and
economic data releases, including Friday's U.S. jobs report.
Investors are expecting a mad dash at the market's open.
"There will be a lot of volume," said Anthony Valeri, markets
strategist with LPL Financial, which oversees $350 billion in
assets. "We expect a volatile open. If you get good economic data
that's contrasting with weak earnings, you could definitely get a
whipsaw."
Corporations are in the midst of reporting their third-quarter
earnings results, and more than 75 companies pushed back their
reports because of the storm, including such big names as Pfizer
Inc.(PFE), Avon Products Inc. (AVP) and Thomson Reuters Corp.
(TRI). Those reports have now been bumped to the latter half of the
week, alongside schedule results from General Motors Co. (GM),
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD).
Economic data for the rest of the week will be heavy as well.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said it intends to release its
closely watched monthly employment report on schedule Friday--the
last big read on the state of the U.S. economy before Tuesday's
presidential elections. Wednesday will see a key gauge of
manufacturing activity in the Midwest. Thursday will see the
Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing report, employment
numbers from Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP), and the delayed
release of consumer-confidence numbers, which were pushed back
because of the storm.
"As typical, we'll scramble to react to the data," said Brian
Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist with Wells Fargo Advantage
Funds, which manages $209 billion in assets. "Sure, we'll have to
process it more quickly, but that's what we do."
U.S. stock futures traded while the exchanges were closed and
gave investors some chance to trade on data. The Case-Shiller
20-city home price index reported a 2% increase for U.S. home
prices, the latest sign the housing market is recovering. After the
report and some good economic news in Europe, stock futures
rebounded, showing a slight gain from Friday's close.
But, still, investors who wanted to trade on the U.S. exchanges
earlier this week are looking to re-evaluate. Jim Russell, chief
equity strategist with U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said that,
before the storm, the firm had decided upon trades it wanted to
complete Tuesday. But both Mr. Russell and Mr. Valeri said they
would hold off on making any big moves until after the dust
settles.
"Although it can be painful over short periods of time, if you
have a sequence of big, market-moving events, we can wait to see
how that plays out," said Mr. Valeri.
Write to Alexandra Scaggs at alexandra.scaggs@dowjones.com
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