Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Stocks to Watch - a preview of key events scheduled for the next week. Follow this account and turn the e-mail alert on to receive this article in your inbox every Saturday morning.
A China delegation will visit the U.S. next week for trade talks in a development that has the potential to set up a deal in front of a summit this fall between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. "The fact that the administration might resolve (trade disputes) sooner rather than later, without a sustained time frame of slower economic activity due to tariffs, that bodes well for the market," notes Wedbush Securities exec Stephen Massocca. The S&P 500 and the Dow head into next week with momentum after posting gains, while the Nasdaq is being held back by some cooling off in sentiment on chip names and FANG stocks. Interest rates and inflation will also get the spotlight, with FOMC minutes due out and the Jackson Hole Annual Economic Symposium kicking off.
Notable earnings reports: Estee Lauder (EL) on August 20; Urban Outfitters (URBN), Kohl's (KSS), J.M. Smucker (SJM), Toll Brothers (TOLL) and TJX Companies (TJX) on August 21; Target (TGT), Lowe's (LOW) and L Brands (LB) on August 22; Alibaba (BABA), Gap (GPS), VMWare (VMW) and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) on August 23; Foot Locker (FL) on August 24. See Seeking Alpha's Earnings Calendar for the complete list of earnings reporters.
Spotlight on Alibaba: Analysts expect Alibaba to report Q2 revenue of $11.7B (+60% Y/Y) and EPS of $1.21 (+3%). Perhaps just as important as the quarterly numbers, Alibaba management will update on the company's "new retail" initiatives. Post-earnings trading on Alibaba could be on the volatile side, with short interest on the tech stock up to 141.5M shares to rep 5.5% of total float.
