Friday Rebound: Early Strength Seen Amid Earnings Avalanche After Tax Fears Bite Market

Friday Rebound: Early Strength Seen Amid Earnings Avalanche After Tax Fears Bite Market

The market's four-week winning streak looks threatened as today's session opens. The S&P 500 Index (SPX) closed just above 4185 a week ago and finished Thursday near 4135, so it would take a major rally for a green week after the taxman's visit yesterday. At the same time, there aren't a lot of new catalysts at work. Friday isn't the busiest earnings day of the season, but it's just the calm before the storm. Next week is when the floodgates open and more than 100 S&P 500 companies report, including four of the five "FAANG" companies along with Tesla TSLA (TSLA) and Microsoft MSFT (MSFT). More on that below. By this time a week from now, we should have a much better sense of whether analysts' average estimate for 24% Q1 earnings growth is in the ballpark or needs adjustment. Yesterday was a rough day thanks in part to new reminders of possible higher taxes (see more below). The Tech sector, especially semiconductors, took a licking, with those shares giving up a lot of Wednesday's gains. The so-called "horsemen of risk" were in the saddle as bonds and volatility galloped higher. Volatility eased a little this morning, but bonds continued