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Traders will take a break from the stock market on Monday in observance of Washington’s Birthday, also known as Presidents’ Day, which is traditionally celebrated on the third Monday in February.
The US bond market, as well as the metals market and The commodity market, including Nymex crude oil and Comex-traded gold, will also be closed, although stock futures are active. There is not much movement, however, with contracts linked to the Dow (HINDU) and S&P 500 (SPX) unchanged, and Nasdaq futures (NDX:IND) ahead by 0.1%. The cryptocurrencies will be available all day, with Bitcoin last changing hands at $52,373.
Investors will also have some time to consider the latest economic data, with mixed reports on GDP, employment, retail sales and CPI inflation doing little to resolve the debate over the risk of overheating or a slide into recession.
Looking ahead, this week will include major earnings reports from Nvidia (preview) and Walmart could largely influence sentiment in their respective industries. Nvidia is up more than 45% YTD and is the AI superstar of the year, while Walmart is labeled one of the best defensive games of the year. Walmart also has a three-for-one stock split that will become effective at the close of trading on Friday.
Get ahead of the curve and check out some of this week’s worthwhile Seeking Alpha stocks to watch.