The week ahead | Calamatta Cuschieri

The final approval of the tax reform boots US stock market.

All three main US stock markets closed at records on Friday as investor expectations grew for passage of Republican-backed tax-cut legislation. 

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 139 points to 24,651.74, a record. The S&P 500 gained 0.9 percent to finish at 2,675.81, also hitting an all-time high, with financials, staples, health care and tech all rising at least 1 percent. The NASDAQ composite advanced 1.2 percent to a record close of 6,936.58.

Both the Dow Jones Index and S&P 500 index registered weekly gains for the past four consecutive weeks.

In this week ahead, the main events to watch out are US durable goods orders, Eurozone consumer confidence, US new home sales and Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) minutes.

On the corporate front, some companies like Carnival, Blackberry, Nike and Accenture will release the half/quarterly earnings.

Samsung to launch Galaxy S9 in March.

Samsung will unveil its new smartphone, Galaxy S9 in February. The device will follow Samsung's popular Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus, which were unveiled in March of last year.

It's unclear where it will announce the phones this year, but the timing lines up with its traditional launches.

Analysts said Samsung is planning to sell the phones beginning in March. Launch timelines can vary by country, however, and plans can shift down to the last minute. 

The new phones are said to be similar to the current Galaxy models, with certain upgrades, such as better camera systems.

Samsung dominated global smartphone shipments in the third quarter of this year, with more than 22 percent of the market, according to analysts. Apple was second with 13 percent.

The rumored debut of the Galaxy S9 will be the company’s first major smartphone introduction since September, when they released the Note 8.

Adobe’s performance exceeds expectations.

Adobe Systems Inc. shares reached a new higher, closing at +1.43% on Friday as investors digested the company’s earnings report. 

The software firm reported on Thursday fiscal fourth quarter revenue grew 25% to $2 billion, exceeding the previsions of 1.9 billion with the earnings per share of $1.26.

Analysts think that the Adobe’s recent performance shows that the company is one of the better-positioned cloud software leaders entering 2018, noting that the company's operating margin exceeded 40% for the first time since 2008.

The analysts raised their price target on shares to $220 from $216. Adobe shares have reached 71% so far in 2017, compared with a 19% gain for the S&P 500 Index.

Disclaimer

This article was issued by Linda De Luca, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.