The following research was contributed to by Christine Short, VP of Research at Wall Street Horizon.
- The Q4 reporting period has been solid with bottom-line numbers verifying stronger than forecasts
- Some of last year’s risks have re-emerged on the macro front, though, perhaps drawing apprehension among CEOs
- We highlight key investor conferences and corporate events looking out to the end of Q1
It has been more of the same through the first half of the first quarter. Mega-cap tech leads while small caps and the cyclical and defensive niches of the global equity market lag. The broadening-out theme from late 2023 has petered out, leaving the bears quick to suggest that fewer bullish stocks might not be a good thing as we progress through a historically dicey calendar stretch from mid-February through mid-March.
Too Much of a Good Thing?
Still, earnings have come in well, and a second consecutive quarter of year-on-year EPS growth appears likely, according to the latest numbers from Factset.1 Thus, it’s not surprising that the S&P 500® rallied to all-time highs earlier this month before that hot CPI print for January spooked Wall Street.
The bulls still have in their back pockets robust economic data trends – the Citigroup Economic Surprise Index has taken off since the start of the year.2 Normally that would be a boon to small-sized domestic companies and stocks in economically sensitive sectors, but robust data continues to push out the first expected Fed rate cut, viewed bearishly by investors. All eyes will be on upcoming PCE data while ears will be tuned to Fed Speak before the March 20 FOMC gathering.
2024’s Emerging Risks and Opportunities
Big picture, interest rates have been back on the rise while oil prices have quietly rallied toward fresh three-month highs, perhaps putting pressure on cyclical companies. Meanwhile, AI’s awe feels stronger than ever after a lull in the second half of 2023 as a few cracks in the consumer appear.
But with ebbing corporate bankruptcies, rising dividends, tight credit spreads, and high demand for corporate bond issuance, there appear to be some tailwinds in play heading into springtime.3
Conferences in the Spotlight
While these macroeconomic trends are important, sector and industry-level details are often discovered at corporate conferences. In this mid-quarter update, we aim to provide investors with a schedule of the major events that could impact markets. Dates subject to change.
Information Technology & Communication Services
February 27: Wolfe Research March Madness Software Conference
March 4: JMP Securities Technology Conference
March 4: Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom (TMT) Conference
March 8: SXSW Conference & Festivals
March 11: Deutsche Bank 32nd Annual Media, Internet & Telecom Conference
March 12: UBS Tech Media & Internet Conference
March 12: Citi TMT Conference
March 14: Bank of America Securities Information and Business Services Conference
March 19: NVIDIA GTC Financial Analyst Q&A (virtual)
Health Care
February 26: Morgan Stanley European Medtech & Life Sciences Conference
February 28: Citi Healthcare Services, Medtech, Tools & HCIT Conference
March 3: TD Cowen 44th Annual Healthcare Conference
March 5: Carnegie Healthcare Conference
March 12: Barclays Global Healthcare Conference
March 12: Oppenheimer 34th Annual Healthcare Conference (virtual)
March 19: KeyBanc Capital Markets Life Sciences & MedTech Investor Forum (virtual)
March 20: BMO BioPharma Spotlight Series: Obesity Day (virtual)
Consumer Discretionary & Consumer Staples
March 11: Barclays Leisure and Transport Conference
March 11: Bank of America Business Service, Leisure, and Transport Conference
March 13: UBS Annual Global Consumer and Retail Conference
March 13: BNP Paribas Consumer Ingredients Conference
March 14: JP Morgan Gaming, Lodging, Restaurant and Leisure Management Access Forum
March 26: Bank of America Securities Automotive Summit
Financials & Real Estate
February 26: UBS Financial Services Conference
February 28: Citi FinTech Conference
February 28: Wolfe Research Real Estate Conference (virtual)
March 4: Citi Global Real Estate Property CEO Conference
March 5: RBC Capital Markets Global Financial Institutions Conference
March 12: Morgan Stanley European Financials Conference
Industrials
March 5: Evercore ISI Industrials Conference
March 5: Morgan Stanley Paris Industrials Day
March 12: JP Morgan Industrials Conference
March 18: HSBC Future Transport Week (virtual)
March 19: Bank of America Global Industrials Conference
March 26: TD Industrials Conference
Energy & Utilities
February 28: Scotiabank 52nd Annual Energy & Power Conference
March 4: Morgan Stanley Global Energy & Power Conference
March 4: Bank of America Power, Utilities & Clean Energy Conference
March 12: Wall Street Green Summit
March 18: CERA Week
March 18: Piper Sandler 24th Annual Energy Conference
March 20: UBS Global Energy Transition Conference
March 26: Wells Fargo 2nd Annual Clean Energy Symposium
Materials
February 25: BMO 32nd Global Metals, Mining & Critical Minerals Conference
February 28: Bank of America Global Agriculture and Materials Conference
March 7: Jefferies Paper and Packaging Summit
March 12: NYSE Investor Access: Materials Day (virtual)
Regional
February 26: Morgan Stanley European Medtech & Life Sciences Conference
February 27: UBS European Healthcare Conference
March 4: Goldman Sachs Latin America Conference
March 4: Berenberg EU Opportunities Conference
March 12: JP Morgan Pan-European Small/Mid-Cap CEO Conference
March 18: Bank of America Asia Pacific APAC Telecom, Media & Technology TMT Conference
March 19: Jefferies 5th Asia Forum
Investor Specific & Multi-Sector
February 26: JP Morgan Global EM Conference
February 26: JP Morgan Global High Yield & Leveraged Finance Conference
February 29: Morgan Stanley Titans of Capital Landmark MENA Event
March 3: Raymond James & Associates 45th Annual Institutional Investors Conference
March 5: Nasdaq Investor Conference
March 13: Sidoti March Small Cap Conference (virtual)
Sources:
1 Earnings Insight, FactSet, John Butters, February 16, 2024, https://advantage.factset.com
2 Earnings Insight, FactSet, John Butters, February 16, 2024, https://advantage.factset.com
3 US bankruptcies hit 13-year peak in 2023; 50 new filings in December, S&P Global, Ingrid LexovaUmer Khan, January 9, 2024, https://www.spglobal.com
For more information on the data sourced in this report, please email: info@wallstreethorizon.com
Wall Street Horizon provides institutional traders and investors with the most accurate and comprehensive forward-looking event data. Covering 9,000 companies worldwide, we offer more than 40 corporate event types via a range of delivery options from machine-readable files to API solutions to streaming feeds. By keeping clients apprised of critical market-moving events and event revisions, our data empowers financial professionals to take advantage of or avoid the ensuing volatility.
Christine Short, VP of Research at Wall Street Horizon, is focused on publishing research on Wall Street Horizon event data covering 9,000 global equities in the marketplace. Over the past 15 years in the financial data industry, her research has been widely featured in financial news outlets including regular appearances on networks such as CNBC and Fox to talk corporate earnings and the economy.
Twitter: @ChristineLShort
The author may hold positions in mentioned securities. Any opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author, and do not in any way represent the views or opinions of any other person or entity.
