What’s the Reward for Taking Equity Risk Right Now?

What’s in Today’s Report:

• What’s the Reward for Taking Equity Risk Right Now?
• Jobless Claims Takeaways – Initial Claims Plunge to Multi-Decade Lows

Futures are tentatively higher following yesterday’s biggest stock market selloff of July with oil down 2%-3% amid quiet geopolitical news while global PMI data beat estimates.

Economic data overnight was strong with U.K. Retail Sales jumping 4.2% vs. (E) 2.0% y/y while the EU Composite Flash PMI firmed from 50.0 to 51.9 vs. (E) 50.1 in July.

Looking ahead to today’s session, there are two notable releases to watch in the U.S., the July PMI Composite Flash (E: 54.2) and New Home Sales (E: 613K) for June.

There are no Fed speakers or Treasury auctions today so investors will be looking for Goldilocks data (resilient, steady growth and cooling inflation trends) and easing geopolitical tensions in order for this morning’s rebound to hold.

Finally, earnings season continues today with noteworthy companies reporting Q2 results including: VZ ($1.27), AXP ($4.41), NEE ($1.08), CHTR ($9.66), and HCA ($7.57).