In a sign that labor market conditions are improving to pre-pandemic levels, initial filings for jobless claims slipped to a new low of 364,000 this week, beating economists’ forecast.
Reflecting the positive employment numbers and other economic data, S&P 500 index made steady gains and hit a new high. Among the other indexes, Dow Jones Industrial Average added 155 points on Friday before ending the session.
The market witnessed a slew of M&A deals this week, despite being a relatively dull period in terms of corporate events. E-commerce firm Etsy purchased Brazil-based marketplace in a $217-million deal, as the first step towards expanding to South America. Meanwhile, social media giant Facebook has approached EU regulators seeking approval for its much-talked about acquisition of CRM platform Kustomer.
Another closely-followed deal was JPMorgan’s acquisition of 40% stake in C6 Bank, a Brazil-based entity. BPO operator Accenture expanded its portfolio yet again by scooping up three tech firms – Sentor, Bionic and CS Technology.
Virtual meeting platform Zoom Video Communications bought Germany-headquartered start-up Kites GmbH. In another tech deal, Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquired cloud recovery firm Zerto.
Except for three major reports that came mid-week, it was an eventless week in terms of earnings announcements. General Mills on Thursday morning said its fourth-quarter revenues and earnings declined in double digits, hurt by faltering sales in North America.
The grocery chain was joined by alcohol behemoth Constellation Brands, which reported a sharply wider loss for the first quarter. In the after-hours, chipmaker Micron Technology brought cheer to shareholders by posting blockbuster results for the third quarter.
Next week, there are very few important announcements lined up, such as the second-quarter earnings report of denim giant Levi Strauss & Co. and third-quarter statement of warehouse club operator Price Smart, Inc.— to be published on July 8. On the next day, metal coatings services provider Azz, Inc. is expected to unveil its latest quarterly numbers.
Key Earnings to Watch
Tuesday: Pure Cycle Corporation, SMART Global Holdings
Wednesday: MSC Industrial Direct Co, WD-40 Company
Thursday: Helen of Troy Limited, Accolade Inc., Levi Strauss, Duck Creek Technologies, and Vail Resorts
Friday: AZZ, Greenbrier Companies, and PriceSmart
Key Corporate Conferences to Watch
Key US Economic Events
Notable Transcripts
The following are notable companies which have reported their earnings last week. In case if you have missed catching up on their performance, click the respective links to skim through the transcripts to glean more insights.
Herman Miller Q4 2021 Earnings Transcript
FactSet Q3 2021 Earnings Transcript
Avid Bioservices Q4 2021 Earnings Transcript
Bed, Bath & Beyond Q1 2021 Earnings Transcript
General Mills Q4 2021 Earnings Transcript
Micron Technology Q3 2021 Earnings Transcript
Acuity Brands Q3 2021 Earnings Transcript
If you want to listen to how management responds to analyst questions and the tone they use, you can head over to our YouTube channel to listen to conference calls on the go.