The stock market ended the week on a positive note after a rocky few days, thanks to the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure. The latest price index of personal consumption expenditures, excluding food and energy costs, rose by 0.2%, in line with estimates. This news soothed investors going into the new week.
In other news, Lululemon is set to report its first quarter results on Wednesday. The athletic apparel company has been struggling with low sales and had to lay off employees and close its distribution center earlier this year. Zacks Investment Research has forecasted earnings per share for the quarter to be $2.39, up from $2.28 in the same quarter last year.
Dollar Tree will also report its earnings on Wednesday morning after announcing the purchase of hundreds of 99 Cents Only stores. The consensus earnings per share forecast for the quarter is $1.43, compared with $1.47 in the same quarter last year.
Additionally, there are new IPOs to look out for this week. Novelis, owned by Indian billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla’s Hindalco Industries, is going public on Thursday, aiming to raise $945 million. Healthcare payments software firm Waystar Holding Corp. is also proceeding with its planned IPO to raise approximately $968 million.
Lastly, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the jobs report on Friday. The number of weekly jobless claims rose to 231,000 last month, the highest level since August, sparking hopes that the Fed might lower interest rates soon. Stay tuned for more updates on these developments.
