Monday, April 3, 2017

On this first trading day for the month of April, certain aspects of the market feel like the beginning of something: along with the hopes of warmer weather and the crack of the baseball bat sounding in parks all across the country, we are anticipating another strong quarter of growth as Q1 earnings season starts in the next couple weeks. At the end of this week, we’ll see the latest non-farm payroll report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Before this, however, we’ll see the latest private sector payroll reports from ADP (ADP Quick QuoteADP - Free Report) released before the opening bell this Wednesday. Last month, ADP posted nearly 300K private-sector jobs, which was much higher than analysts had expected. Growth in Construction and Manufacturing surprised to the upside, with Goods employment up triple-digits for the first time in a very long time. We shall see if this continues as the Trump Era moves along in its still-early stages.

This week also brings along some early Q1 earnings reports, including Monsanto and Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA Quick QuoteWBA - Free Report) on Wednesday. Monsanto is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock with a Zacks Style Score (Value, Growth, Momentum) of B. Walgreens also has a Zacks Style Score of B, with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

For comprehensive coverage of earnings season both in its current nascent stages as well as when reporting heats up, we’d all do well to follow what Zacks Director of Research Sheraz Mian has to say about it. For his latest Earnings Preview, click here: Handicapping Q1 Earnings Season. https://www.zacks.com/commentary/108341/handicapping-the-q1-earnings-season

Mark Vickery
Senior Editor

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