The holiday season is almost here, with two much-awaited days – Thanksgiving and Black Friday – almost at the doorstep. Before you swing into the holiday mood, here are some information that will come handy this week.
The stock market and the bond market will remain closed on November 22, Thursday, to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. On the next day, Black Friday, both the markets will function but will close early. The stock market will close at 1 PM ET, three hours before the usual closing time and the bond market will halt trading at 2 PM ET.
A few retail majors are set to report earnings this week, starting with JD.com (JD) on Monday. Other key retailers reporting earnings this week include L Brands (LB) on Monday; Target (TGT), Kohl’s (KSS), Foot Locker (FL), Best Buy (BBY), Lowe’s (LOW), Gap (GPS), TJ Maxx (TJX) and Ross Stores (ROST) on Tuesday.
Companies functioning in other industries reporting earning this week include food companies Jack in the Box (JACK) on Monday; Campbell Soup (CPB) and Hormel Foods (HRL) on Tuesday. Manufacturing firm Deere (DE) is reporting before-market on Wednesday.
As of Friday’s close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 2.4% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 index has increased by 1.5%. The Nasdaq composite index has jumped 3.4% till Friday’s close.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose for the fourth consecutive session on Monday. The increase was primarily driven by reports that Saudi Arabia was pushing fellow OPEC countries as well as Russia to cut the supply by year-end.
Two economic data reports are scheduled to be published this week. Housing starts data for the month of October will be published on Tuesday, while the report on existing home sales is due to be out on Wednesday.