Stocks are Mixed After Weak Retail Sales Data Released

Earnings Reports - More than half of the S&P 500 companies have reported Q4 earnings, with 79% beating expectations, indicating strong performance [2] - S&P earnings growth is projected to increase by +8.4% in Q4, marking the tenth consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth [2] - Excluding the Magnificent Seven technology stocks, Q4 earnings are expected to rise by +4.6% [2] Economic Indicators - January nonfarm payrolls are expected to increase by +68,000, with the unemployment rate remaining at 4.4% [3] - January average hourly earnings are anticipated to rise by +0.3% month-over-month and +3.7% year-over-year [3] - December retail sales were unchanged month-over-month, falling short of expectations of +0.4% [4] - The Q4 employment cost index rose by +0.7% quarter-over-quarter, the smallest increase in 4.5 years [4] Stock Market Movements - Cybersecurity stocks are performing well, with Atlassian up more than +4% and Zscaler up more than +3% [10] - AI-infrastructure stocks are under pressure, with Western Digital down more than -8% [11] - Ichor Holdings is up more than +34% after forecasting Q1 adjusted EPS significantly above consensus [12] - Spotify is up more than +17% after reporting a record 38 million monthly active users, exceeding expectations [12] Company Forecasts - Credo Technology Group is up more than +10% after forecasting preliminary Q3 revenue well above consensus [13] - Masco is up more than +9% after forecasting full-year adjusted EPS above consensus [13] - Coca-Cola is down more than -1% after reporting Q4 net revenue below consensus [16]