By Alexandra Scaggs
Stock investors clamoring to trade again will face a barrage of market-moving data compressed into a shortened trading week when the U.S. opening bell rings at 9:30 a.m. EDT Wednesday.
Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the East Coast early in the week, leading to two days of stock-market closures--making it four days without stock trading--during a particularly busy stretch for markets. This week is loaded with company earnings reports and economic data releases, including Friday's U.S. jobs report. Investors are expecting a mad dash at the market's open.
"There will be a lot of volume," said Anthony Valeri, markets strategist with LPL Financial, which oversees $350 billion in assets. "We expect a volatile open. If you get good economic data that's contrasting with weak earnings, you could definitely get a whipsaw."
Corporations are in the midst of reporting their third-quarter earnings results, and more than 75 companies pushed back their reports because of the storm, including such big names as Pfizer Inc.(PFE), Avon Products Inc. (AVP) and Thomson Reuters Corp. (TRI). Those reports have now been bumped to the latter half of the week, alongside schedule results from General Motors Co. (GM), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and LinkedIn Corp. (LNKD).
Economic data for the rest of the week will be heavy as well. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said it intends to release its closely watched monthly employment report on schedule Friday--the last big read on the state of the U.S. economy before Tuesday's presidential elections. Wednesday will see a key gauge of manufacturing activity in the Midwest. Thursday will see the Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing report, employment numbers from Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP), and the delayed release of consumer-confidence numbers, which were pushed back because of the storm.
"As typical, we'll scramble to react to the data," said Brian Jacobsen, chief portfolio strategist with Wells Fargo Advantage Funds, which manages $209 billion in assets. "Sure, we'll have to process it more quickly, but that's what we do."
U.S. stock futures traded while the exchanges were closed and gave investors some chance to trade on data. The Case-Shiller 20-city home price index reported a 2% increase for U.S. home prices, the latest sign the housing market is recovering. After the report and some good economic news in Europe, stock futures rebounded, showing a slight gain from Friday's close.
But, still, investors who wanted to trade on the U.S. exchanges earlier this week are looking to re-evaluate. Jim Russell, chief equity strategist with U.S. Bank Wealth Management, said that, before the storm, the firm had decided upon trades it wanted to complete Tuesday. But both Mr. Russell and Mr. Valeri said they would hold off on making any big moves until after the dust settles.
"Although it can be painful over short periods of time, if you have a sequence of big, market-moving events, we can wait to see how that plays out," said Mr. Valeri.