1 Stock to Buy, 1 Stock to Sell This Week: Meta Platforms, Intel

In This Article:

  • Big Tech earnings, U.S. jobs report, PCE inflation data will be in focus this week.

  • Meta is positioned to deliver strong results, benefiting from a favorable digital advertising landscape and the successful integration of AI across its platforms.

  • Intel continues to face significant operational and financial challenges, casting doubt on its ability to compete effectively in the semiconductor market.

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U.S. stocks closed mixed on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite reaching a new record amid a rally in megacap tech stocks.

Only the Nasdaq closed the week with gains, adding 0.2%, while the S&P 500 fell 1% and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 2.7%. Both the S&P 500 and Dow snapped a six-week winning streak.

Equities were unsettled by a rapid spike in yields as bets on rate cuts by the Federal Reserve unraveled on expectations of a stronger economic outlook.

Source: Investing.com

The blockbuster week ahead is expected to be an eventful one filled with several market-moving events as investors continue to assess the outlook for the economy, inflation, and rate cuts.

Most important on the economic calendar will be Friday’s U.S. employment report for October, which is forecast to show the economy added 111,000 positions. The unemployment rate is seen holding steady at 4.1%.

The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index - which is the Fed’s preferred inflation measure - is also on the agenda.

Weekly Economic Events
Weekly Economic Events


Source: Investing.com

Meanwhile, Fed officials will be in a blackout period ahead of the U.S. central bank’s policy meeting scheduled for November 7. As of Sunday morning, traders see a 92% chance of the Fed cutting rates by 25 basis points next month, according to Investing.com’s Fed Monitor Tool.

Elsewhere, the earnings season hits full swing, with five of the massive ‘Magnificent Seven’ tech stocks set to report their latest results. Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) reports on Tuesday night, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) on Wednesday, while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) are due late Thursday.

These mega-caps will be joined by notable companies like Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), Uber (NYSE:UBER), PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL), Visa (NYSE:V), Mastercard (NYSE:MA), McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM), and Chevron (NYSE:CVX).

Regardless of which direction the market goes, below I highlight one stock likely to be in demand and another which could see fresh downside. Remember though, my timeframe is just for the week ahead, Monday, October 28 - Friday, November 1.