Stocks closed mixed yesterday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq eking out a small gain, while the Dow, small-cap Russell 2000, and mid-cap S&P 400 ended with a loss. The small-caps led the decliners giving up -1.09%. The Dow and mid-caps were only down -0.12% and -0.17% respectively.

We've got a big week of earnings this week.

Yesterday, before the open, McDonald's posted a negative EPS surprise of -3.57%, and a negative sales surprise of -2.42%. That translated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of 6% vs. this time last year, and a sales growth of -0.1%. They were up 3.74% in the regular session.

Also before the open, we heard from ON Semiconductor which posted a positive EPS surprise of 4.35%, and a positive sales surprise of 0.20%. That equated to a quarterly EPS growth rate of -27.8%, and a sales growth of -17.2%. Nonetheless, they were up 11.5% on the day.

After the close, Sprouts Farmers Market reported a positive EPS surprise of 22.1%, and a positive sales surprise of 3.61%. That showed a quarterly EPS growth rate of 32.4%, and a sales growth of 11.8%. They were off -2.35% in the regular session before earnings, but soared by more than 14% in after-hours trade following earnings.

Today we'll get another 167 companies on deck to report, including Microsoft, Advanced Micro Devices and Starbucks.

All in all, for the rest of the week, we'll hear from 1,089, with Meta and ARM Holdings going on Wednesday, Apple and Amazon on Thursday, and Berkshire Hathaway and Exxon Mobile on Friday.

We've also got a busy week of economic reports as well.

Yesterday we got the Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey which showed the General Activity Index at -17.5 vs. last month's -15.1 and views for -13.5. The Production Index slipped to -1.3 vs. last month's 0.7.

Today we'll get the Case-Shiller Home Price Index, the FHFA House Price Index, Consumer Confidence Index, and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey report (or JOLTS for short).

But the two main events this week will be Wednesday's FOMC Announcement, followed by Fed Chair Jerome Powell's customary Press Conference.

While nobody is expecting the Fed to cut rates on Wednesday, the market will be listening for any clues as to when the Fed might begin to cut. There's a growing belief that they could cut as early as September. If not, it's looking like November or December.

The Fed insists they will be data dependent as they look for more evidence that inflation is on its way back down to 2%.

That brings us to Friday's Employment Situation report. A combination of easing inflation and a weakening labor market from the overly tight conditions we've seen for too long, would present the ideal situation to give the Fed the confidence they desire to cut rates sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, the week will be abuzz with earnings.

See you tomorrow,