Sheraz Mian's Contributions

U.S. stocks will likely follow the lead from markets around the world, particularly in Europe, to respond positively to the reported truce between Russia and Ukraine. It isn’t clear at this stage whether we do finally have a deal or not...

The positive GDP report today will likely not be enough to offset the overhang from Ukraine-centric worries in today’s session. But this is nevertheless a welcome and reassuring read on the economy.

The Fed remains in the spotlight today, with minutes of its last meeting coming out later this afternoon and the annual Jackson Hole meeting getting underway tomorrow. The risk in today’s Fed minutes center on...

Stocks reversed the slide this week, recouping a fair amount of the losses from the preceding three weeks and getting back to within striking distance of July’s all-time high. It seems like the pullback has ended even before many people could acknowledge it.

Geopolitical concerns have been dominating the headlines lately, distracting investors from the overall favorable picture emerging from Q2 earnings season. Early sentiment today is pointing towards a positive open...

Stocks opened higher today, but a growing list of geopolitical concerns are driving investor sentiment and market action. The Iraq situation is grabbing headlines, but Russia remains the primary worry for the markets.

Soft economic data out of Europe is again raising doubts about the region’s economic outlook. Threatening moves by Russia in its ongoing face-off over Ukraine are also keeping market participants on edge. As a result, safe-haven trades into U.S. treasuries are pushing yields to the lowest levels of the year, offsetting Fed fears of recent days.

Stocks were down big on Thursday, with the improving economic backdrop prompting investors to suspect that the Fed will remove the punchbowl sooner than earlier expected. But this morning’s not-too-hot-not-too-cold jobs reading will likely soothe some of those fears.

Stocks opened lower in today’s session, with Europe-centric concerns and more follow-through from Wednesday’s Fed statement as the likely catalysts. The jobs report coming out tomorrow has assumed even greater significance following the strong...

Earnings remain front and center in today’s session even as we move into the second half of the Q2 reporting season, which has broadly offered a positive and reassuring picture of corporate profitability.

We now have Q2 results from 226 S&P 500 members that combined account for 53% of the index’s total market capitalization. Total earnings for these 202 companies are up +9.9% from the same period last year on...

A benign inflation reading and a slew of earnings reports provide a reassuring backdrop for today’s trading session, with stocks on track to reverse the prior days’ geopolitics-inspired pullback.

Earnings remain front and center in today’s session, with the finance-heavy results thus far largely in the “positive and reassuring” category. Continuation of this favorable trend over the next couple of weeks will likely do more for this market than any other factor.

The market seems very happy with the Citigroup (C) report this morning — the numbers look particularly impressive once the $7 billion settlement with the Justice Department also announced today are excluded.

With not much on the economic calendar this morning, last week’s strong jobs report will likely remain the dominant theme in today’s session as well. Attention will soon shift to the second quarter earnings season, with Alcoa’s (AA) unofficial kick-off to the reporting cycle after the close on Tuesday.

Another day, another weak read from the economy. But stock market investors are an optimistic bunch; they wouldn’t let anything hold them down. They like good news, but they have taught themselves to like bad news as well.

We may not get further Fed-related follow through in today’s session as markets did most of the cheering Wednesday afternoon after the Fed meeting. There were no surprises from the Fed, but it was still able to make everybody happy.

Markets have the spotlight firmly on the Fed which will conclude its two-day session today. The market isn’t expecting any surprises from the Fed this afternoon and the FOMC will try its best not to disappoint on that front.

U.S. economic data lately has been broadly positive, confirming hopes of a strong rebound in the second quarter. But the growth picture beyond the U.S. isn’t as reassuring, with Europe struggling with forces of disinflation and the emerging world losing momentum.

The markets will breathe a sigh of relief that the European Central Bank (ECB) has finally come through with the long-promised easing measures. Stocks in the U.S. appear on track to respond positively to the ECB move, though a sustained upward move will become clear following the press event.