Today's Earnings Report Schedule: 10/01/2020

Today kicks off the fourth quarter of 2020 and a brand new month of trading. While the major indexes all logged sharp monthly losses for the month of September -- their first losing trifecta since March -- the last day of September saw a rise in stocks.  The gains, though, were ultimately capped after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin failed to deliver on an economic stimulus deal.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 27,781.70) 1.2% yesterday, and shed 2.3% for the month of September. For the full third quarter, the Dow added 7.6%. The S&P 500 Index (SPX - 3,363.00) 0.8% for the day yesterday. The Nasdaq Composite (IXIC - 11,167.51) gained 0.7% during yesterday's session. The indexes lost 3.9% and 5.1%, respectively, in September, but gained 8.5% and 11.1% for the full third quarter. Lastly, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX - 26.37) tacked on 0.4% for the day yesterday, and fell 0.2% for the month. The VIX lost 13.3% for the third quarter of 2020.

Quick links to our proprietary analysis of hot stocks you should keep on your radar today:

• FEATURE: What traders should expect in Q4
• Controversy surrounds this auto manufacturer stock and delays deal with Nikola
• This specialty chemicals stock is flat despite slew of bull notes
• Why options bulls' next pick should be this online retail stock
• Will this fitness stock continue working out for investors?
• This utilities stock surged on takeover talks
• After announcing major layoffs due to coronavirus, this entertainment stock dipped
• This retail stock flew higher on analyst upgrade yesterday

As we kick off the month of October and the final quarter of 2020, there are quite a few the major news drops slated for today. Manufacturing data from the the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) will be released, in addition to core personal consumption expenditure data. We are also awaiting some major earnings announcements. We have rounded up all the companies slated to release their quarterly earnings today.

• Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBY -- $14.98) operates a chain of retail stores, selling a large range of domestic merchandise directly to consumers.

  - Bed Bath & Beyond will report its fiscal first-quarter earnings of 2021 before the bell today.
  

• Conagra Brands, Inc. (NYSE: CAG -- $35.71) is a consumer-packaged goods food company in North America. Click here for our three-pronged Expectational Analysis® analysis of the market's reaction to the company's last earnings announcement.

  - Conagra will report its fourth-quarter earnings before the bell today. 

• PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ: PEP -- $138.60) is a food and beverage company worldwide. PEP is currently 5.3% higher year-over-year. Click here to see how PepsiCo fared after its last earnings release, along with our deep-dive into the options pits' reaction

  - PepsiCo will report its third-quarter earnings before the bell today.
  

• SMART Global Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SGH -- $27.34) designs and manufactures electronic products focused in memory and computing technology areas.

  - SMART will report its third-quarter earnings after the market closes today.
  

As we covered last week, tomorrow, Friday, October 2 will turn all eyes toward the unemployment rate update, as well as nonfarm payrolls data. There are no notable earnings reports as of this morning, but we will keep you covered on all earnings that are confirmed tomorrow morning.