U.S. Stock Futures Mixed, Heads for a Winning Week

Wall Street is headed for a winning week in which the S&P 500 has recorded a new all-time high. The Department of Commerce reported that retail sales decreased 0.6% in July. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was for a breakeven. The metric for June was 0.2%. 

However, retail sales increased 5% annually in July. Retail sales (excluding auto) decreased 0.3% last month. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was for an increase of 0.1%. The metric for June decreased 0.2%.

Earnings News: AMAT, NKTR, STNE

Applied Materials Inc. AMAT came up with quarterly adjusted earnings of $3.5 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.38 per share. This compares to earnings of $2.48 per share a year ago. The leading supplier of equipment used in semiconductor and solar photovoltaic products posted quarterly revenues of $9.12 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.31%. For a detailed analysis of AMAT’s earnings, click here

Nektar Therapeutics NKTR came up with a quarterly adjusted loss of $1.23 per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $2.06 per share. This compares to a loss of $2.78 per share a year ago. The biotechnology firm registered quarterly revenues of $10.13 million, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 6.15%. For a detailed discussion on NKTR’s earnings, click here.

StoneCo Ltd. STNE reported quarterly adjusted earnings of $0.47 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.46 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.39 per share a year ago. The provider of end-to-end cloud-based technology platform posted quarterly revenues of $709.88 million, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.91%. To get more information on STNE earnings, click here.  

After Market Economic Data

After the closing bell today, the University of Michigan will report preliminary reading of the U.S. Consumer Sentiment Index for August. The final reading of the July index was 55.2, marking a sharp rise from 49.5 in June. In addition to the subindex for current economic conditions and the subindex for consumer expectations, market participants will closely monitor the short-term 1-year inflation index and the long-term 5-year inflation index.

Moreover, the U.S. Census Bureau will announce manufacturing and trade inventories and sales – popularly known as the Business Inventories data – for June. 

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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