Looking Ahead To Retail, Nvidia Earnings On 'Briefing With Brent'

It's Monday on PreMarket Prep Plus, so that means another segment of “Briefing With Brent.”

Brent Slava has been the head of the Benzinga Pro newsdesk since 2013 and has helped investors big and small,navigate the financial markets through their ups and downs.

The Week Ahead: To begin with, Slava discussed the winding down of the third-quarter earnings season from the perspective of the actual number of companies reporting this versus prior weeks. He cited a figure from Benzinga’s data team that on Monday there are 230 companies reporting results, while for the remainder of the week, there will be around 50 companies reporting on a daily basis.

In addition, he alerted investors that the end of the earnings season features reports from companies in the retail sector.

Walmart Inc. WMT will be setting the early tone for the big box retailers, as it reports before the bell on Tuesday. Once the bar is set high or low, Target Corp. TGT and TJX Companies TJX will be reporting before the opening Wednesday.

One high-flier issue reportig this week that may instigate sympathy moves in the chip sector is Nvidia Corp. NVDA. The company reports after the close on Wednesday, and with its recent rapid appreciation, expectations for the report and guidance are going to be high.

The Next Market Catalysts: With third-quarter earnings coming to an end, Slava discussed what may be the next catalyst for the markets. Keeping in the retail theme, he mentioned the upcoming holiday season and to be on the lookout for retailers that are reporting strong sales numbers at the onset, beginning with Black Friday results.

He is hoping a strong holiday season may attract more investors to the markets and boost the overall volume, which has been at a moderate level historically.

Pot Getting Hot? Slava was asked the question of whether the recent move in some of the issues in the cannabis sector was warranted. He responded by saying that channels of information that he follows were discussing the sector on a more frequent basis last week.

In addition, he noted that in the current market environment, “momentum itself can be very important.” Along these lines, in the absence of specific catalysts, investors may rely more on the “technicals rather than the fundamentals,” he said, which may instigate unexpected moves in either direction.

The full discussion with Brent Slava from Monday’s PreMarket Plus Show can be seen here:

For more information on Premarket Prep Plus, go to premarketprep.com.