Here are the 3 big things we're watching in the stock market this week

Here is a story making headlines in the economy: The common thread linking this week's biggest market events is the state of the U. The biggest day is Tuesday, when the nation's largest banks — JPMorgan , Bank of America and Citigroup , along with Club names Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs — mark the start of second-quarter earnings season. As if that wasn't enough, the June consumer price index report is due out at 8:30 a.

ET Tuesday, precisely when JPMorgan's influential conference call, led by CEO Jamie Dimon, is scheduled to begin. Across the rest of the week, non-banks with key insights into the economy and consumer behavior also deliver earnings, most notably trucking firm J. Hunt , Netflix , and United Airlines .

Economic Details

The economic calendar also features a second inflation report — the wholesale producer price index — among other smaller updates. Let us not forget Club name Johnson & Johnson reports Wednesday morning, and our July Monthly Meeting is set for noon ET Thursday. Now, let's take a closer look at what to expect from our portfolio names and the inflation data.

Bank earnings: While macroeconomic reports are important in helping to better understand the economy at a higher level, nothing compares to the real-time commentary we receive on post-earnings conference calls. That is even more true when it comes to the banks. While all banks can, of course, provide information on their own operations, the larger ones — those in which we are invested — have unique insight into the global economy, given how much money flows through them on a daily, weekly, and quarterly basis.

That flow of money can provide incredible insight into every level of economic activity. Both Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs report before the bell Tuesday. Wells Fargo's conference call kicks off at 10 a.

Analyst Views

Goldman starts a half hour earlier at 9:30 a. For both banks — and, honestly, this goes for the rest of earnings season as well — we're interested in hearing about any quantifiable gains management is seeing from artificial intelligence implementation. We also want their thinking on AI spending levels as companies increasingly look to optimize their compute bills, shifting away from a blank-check attitude, known as "tokenmaxxing.

" Our latest Club Check-in video explores this shift. Between the two, Wells Fargo should be able to give us a bit more insight on the state of the consumer. Goldman Sachs should be able to provide a closer look at the state of corporate M & A and funding activities, such as the IPO pipeline, interest among public companies to raise debt or sell equity, and the market's willingness to fund those initiatives.

This is a pivotal quarter for Wells, as far as our investment in the stock is concerned. After back-to-back disappointing quarters, we need to see the bank get back to beating Wall Street estimates.

Financial markets are tracking the development closely as investors assess the likely impact.