Busy Week With Inflation, Retail Sales & Triple-Witch Opex

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Our View

After a big week of ups and downs, last week the sellers took over the tape as bellwether Nvidia had a bad day on Friday. After a Goldilocks February jobs report and the S&P making its 17th new contract high in 2024 the over-extended, red-hot semiconductor group pushed technology and other hot stocks lower. 

While my lean was to sell the higher-open, both the ES and the NQ initially rallied and I got stopped out near the highs of the day. As the PitBull said: I had the right idea, I just went too early. 

The week ahead starts with no scheduled economic reports, but Tuesday’s CPI report should give investors a fresh look at inflation — which has been creeping higher lately and came in hot last month. Things pick up again on Thursday with the retail sales number and the Producer Price index (PPI), jobless claims and business inventories. Friday’s reports include the Empire State manufacturing survey, import price index, industrial production and consumer sentiment. Friday is also a triple-witching expiration. 

Worth noting is that there are no Fed speakers this week.

Also worth noting is this great piece I read over the weekend, called Can the Nikkei’s record rally in Japanese stocks continue?