Key Stock Market Stories to Watch Ahead of Next Trading Session
The stock market continued its downward trend for the fourth consecutive day, with housing stocks underperforming due to rising mortgage rates. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate surpassed 7%, leading to declines in companies like Toll Brothers (-1.9%), PulteGroup (-2%), and Hovnanian (-2.6%). Energy stocks remained a bright spot as oil prices rose about 12% this week, with Devon Energy and Valero each gaining around 4%. Oracle reported better-than-expected earnings on Thursday, pushing shares up nearly 5%, though the stock is still down significantly from its previous high. Inflation data will be closely watched when Friday’s CPI report is released at 8:30 a.m. ET, with expectations of a monthly increase of 0.4% and an annual rate of 3.4%. Kroger is set to release earnings early on Friday morning after its stock has fallen over 25% from March highs in recent months.
Tickers: $DVN $HOV $KR $ORCL $PHM $TOL $VLO
Topics: earnings reports energy sector housing stocks inflation data mortgage rates oil prices