Markets staged a major rebound Monday after logging its worst week since early October 2008. The Dow (^DJI) surged a whopping 1,293.96 points, or 5.1%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) soared 4.6% and the Nasdaq (^IXIC)jumped 4.5%. Despite the massive rally to kick off the week, markets will remain focused on the coronavirus, as its spread continues worldwide.
Super Tuesday
Tuesday is a big day in politics with so-called Super Tuesday in focus. Super Tuesday is the biggest primary day, when the most states hold nominating contests in one day. Fourteen states and one U.S. territory will hold nominating contests and will award a total of 1,357 delegates.
“The Democratic primaries ... next week may take a back seat as coronavirus concerns dominate,” Capital Economics wrote in a note Feb. 28. “But Bernie Sanders is on course to again be the big winner, potentially adding fuel to the stock market sell-off. Arguably the bigger uncertainty now is whether a coronavirus outbreak could disrupt the rest of the Democratic primary calendar, including a delay to the National Convention in mid-July. The real ‘black swan’ would be if a nationwide epidemic threatened November’s elections.”
Target earnings
Corporate earnings season has wound down significantly, but investors will be paying close attention to big box retailer Target’s (TGT) earnings ahead of the opening bell. Target’s fourth-quarter results follow the company’s weaker-than-expected holiday sales announcement in mid January. The retailer’s same-store sales during November and December grew a meager 1.4% compared to 5.7% a year ago.
At the time, Morgan Stanley analyst Simeon Gutman predicted, “January sales likely bounced back. We don't think the November/December comp that was comparing against a longer Holiday period in 2018 is necessarily indicative of the business going forward. While the +1.4% Q4 comp guidance implies a similar January to the Holiday result (+1.4%), we think there is conservatism in this estimate.”
Analysts polled by Bloomberg predict Target will report adjusted earnings of $1.66 per share on $23.26 billion in revenue during its fiscal fourth quarter. Same-store sales, a key industry metric, are expected to have jumped 2.2%, boosted by strength in its private-label brands and store remodels.
Target stock has been a strong performer over the past 12 months and surged 40%, while the broader market rose 6.7% during the same time period.
Other notable earnings reports scheduled for Tuesday include AutoZone (AZO) and Kohl’s (KSS) before market open, and Nordstrom (JWN) after market close.
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Heidi Chung is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @heidi_chung.
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