The three biggest carmakers, Toyota (NYSE: TM), Ford (NYSE: F), and General Motors , said last week that they think U.S. auto sales have bottomed. New car sales posted the smallest decline for any month this year, though sales still slipped 28% year over year.
What’s ahead Welcome to the third quarter!
Earnings season starts in earnest this week with Alcoa (NYSE: AA) on Wednesday. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) kicks off the reporting season for banks on July 14. Wall Streeters, including JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Goldman Sachs , and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), are expected to log the most lucrative quarter since the financial crisis began, as they returned to banking basics and competition thinned out.
Earnings will be a major catalyst for this market in the coming weeks. The past rally was driven by “less bad” economic data and corporate earnings. Expectations now are higher than before, and may be harder to beat as a result
On the economic data front, this week brings the ISM services index. Out today is the May consumer credit, the trade balance, and the Reuters/University of Michigan Sentiment index.
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