The triple A week ahead; Apple results, ASX reporting season, plus investing ideas for August

Hey there,

There is what is happening in markets right now, what to consider and potential trading and investing ideas.

- 1- The US market is roaring further into a new bull market territory with the S&P500 just 5% away from its all-time high after rising 20% this year. The S&P500 has now closed higher for the third week, and for the fifth month.

- 2- From a fundamental perspective, positive momentum remains as S&P500 company earnings have so far beat expectations, plus there is hope the US will avoid a recession. But Apple's results this week could be a game changer.If you were a technical analyst, you'd see the S&P500 moving averages; the MACD and RSI are suggesting the market could continue to move higher.

-3- Among the S&P 500 companies, 254 have so far reported results and 79% have surpassed analysts' expectations. That's above average, as in a typical quarter, 66% of companies have beaten estimates since 1994. That said, so far average US company earnings are falling, with earnings seeing the biggest drop since 2020. On top of earnings season being better than feared, investors need to remember the US market is forward-looking, and investors are hoping the Fed will soon stop hiking interest rates, which will support S&P500 company future earnings.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Australia's central bank, the RBA meets on Tuesday, August 1, with a 0.25% hike widely expected by the majority of economists. But traders foresee the RBA keeping rates on hold at 4.1% for the second straight meeting, given the RBA sees inflation peaking. To access moomoo's reporting season calendar, for the US and Australian companies, as well as the key economic events to be across this week, use moomoo's app.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

- The next S&P/ASX quarterly review will be announced on Friday, September 1 2023, and any changes will take effect from Friday, September 15 2023. This means the index maker S&P Dow Jones Indices will rebalance its key indices based on market cap changes. Subsequently, you will see ETFs and some investment managers make changes to their portfolios. Meaning, either buying or selling stocks that will be added or removed from key indices. Investors can get ahead of the rebalance and buy or sell stocks that may be added or removed. So it's worth noting what stocks could be added/removed.

- The US introduced export restrictions last year, imposing two performance caps on exporting AI chips to China; one on how fast the chips can talk to one another, and the second on the chips' processing speeds.

- But, one would assume if the chip makers would be banned from selling chips to China, that would result in a permanent loss of opportunities for the US industry. So far, it doesn't seem the US are pushing for such changes.

- All in all, though, you might expect volatility for chip makers, and if the US does not enforce a total ban on exports, then down days in US chip makers could be seen as a buying opportunity. So this is something to monitor and consider.

_________________________________________________________________________________________

Have a great week,

Jessica