Monday madness more records, can it be turnaround Tuesday after sales data?

Here is what you need to know on Tuesday, August 17:

More records yet again for some of our favourite equity indices on Tuesday as a strong intraday turnaround saw the S&P 500 set a new all-time closing high yet again. The Dow also got in on the party but the Nasdaq is just below its own all-time highs. As for the poor Russell 2000 (IWM) well it remains rangebound for most of 2021 and slipped again yesterday.

Monday also saw another notable notch in the S&P 500, it has now more than doubled from the March 2020 pandemic lows making that the fastest doubling since World War 2 according to CNBC. Heady days indeed. Delta is coming though, the third or fourth wave (we’ve lost count) but with the developed world at least having high vaccination rates investors are betting that it will not cause a slowdown. That is unless you are in Australia or Japan where lower vaccination rates are leading to lockdowns and reduced economic activity. Adjust your exposure accordingly. Europe and the US appear to be best able to withstand delta in terms of economic impact at least.

The trend to getting back to normal has seen Home Depot (HD) shares drop on the back of sales missing estimates. The comparisons were always going to be tough for Home Depot as let’s face it we all went a bit mad shopping there during the height of the pandemic. The shares are currently down over 3% in the premarket.

All the metrics we were concerned over recently have calmed down, opening the way for this fresh series of all-time highs. Yields have dropped, the put/call ratio has dropped and the dollar has also dropped, now down to 1.1770 versus the euro. Unfortunately for bulls, the latest US retail sales have also dropped, with a pretty decent miss. Oil continues to fall $66.50 now as delta is hitting and China data was poor yesterday. Bitcoin is at $47,000 and gold is $1792.

See forex today

European markets are lower: eurostoxx -0.6%, FTSE -0.1% and Dax -0.2%.

US futures are also lower: S&P -0.5%, Dow -0.6% and Nasdaq -0.5%. That was as much of a dip we got yesterday so is it the same again?

SPY stock news and forecast

US Retail sales -1.1% monthly, estimate -0.3%.

S&P 500 doubles from March 2020 lows.

New Zealand goes into lockdown after one covid case, Australia increases its restrictions, and Florida, Oregon and Hawaii see a sharp rise in cases and hospitalizations.

China says will safeguard legal income and rationally adjust excessively high incomes.

EU GDP +13.6% yearly versus 13.7% estimate, monthly, inline.

Home Depot (HD) down 3% premarket on earnings.

Walmart (WMT) beats estimates and raised guidance but shares fall 1%.

Roblox (RBLX) loss of $0.25 was slightly worse than expected. Shares down 5%.

BHP reports the best profit in nearly 10 years as the company to try to merge petroleum business with Woodside. Also plans to delist from London Stock Exchange. BHP is the biggest company in the FTSE 100.

Tencent Music (TME) down 6% premarket as revenue misses estimates.

SEA Ltd (SE) up 2% premarket on strong earnings.

Moderna (MRNA) covid vaccine is authorized in the UK for adolescents.

Chipotle (CMG) Raymond James downgraded it yesterday but Cowen & Co add to conviction list.