The major benchmarks are headed for their worst weekly losses since 2020
It was a tough holiday-shortened week for the U.S. markets, as rising Treasury yields weighed on sentiment. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) closed Tuesday with a staggering 543-point drop, while the S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (IXIC) fell as well. The next two days were much of the same, with the Dow securing its fifth-straight triple-digit loss on Thursday, and the other two benchmarks marking their third-straight losses. At this point on Friday, all three benchmarks are lower, and headed for their worst weekly losses since 2020, as Netflix (NFLX) earnings disappoint.
Bank Earnings in Focus
Several bank names reported earnings this week. Goldman Sachs' fourth-quarter earnings miss dragged the Dow on Tuesday morning, sending other bank stocks lower as well, including Bank of America (BAC), ahead of its own report. The following day, Morgan Stanley (MS) entered the spotlight, after the company reported better-than-expected earnings due to its recent flood of mergers and acquisitions. Meanwhile, smaller financial stock Regions Financial (RF) was rattled by its earnings miss.
News Story of the Week
On Tuesday, word came that blue-chip name Microsoft (MSFT) is acquiring Activision Blizzard (ATVI) for $68.7 billion in cash, or $95 per share, which was a 45% premium to ATVI's Friday close. This is the biggest deal in the video game sector's history, and provided headwinds for Sony Group (SONY). Meanwhile, According to a column in the Financial Times, Electronic Arts (EA) could be the next gaming stock to watch.
Blue-Chip Earnings Next Week
As the first month of 2022 comes to a close, there will be a flood of economic data to unpack. Plus, there will be plenty of blue-chip earnings to look forward to as, 3M (MMM), American Express (AXP), Apple (AAPL), Boeing (BA), IBM (IBM), Intel (INTC), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), and McDonald's (MCD) are all set to release their quarterly reports. In the meantime, Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White explains the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII) survey, after it sounded a bearish alarm.