(PRO Views are exclusive to PRO subscribers, giving them insight on the news of the day direct from a real investment pro. See the full discussion above.) Another wave of second-quarter corporate profit updates, Friday’s nonfarm jobs report for July and seasonal headwinds could all test the stock market this week, according to NYSE insider Jay Woods. August and September are historically the two worst-performing months for the S & P 500 , Woods said. Since 1990, August has declined nearly 0.5% in a typical year, while September has fallen even more, about 0.75%. Woods says the benchmark stock index has also been stuck between roughly 7,237 and 7,620 for two months. “Let’s see if we break above that range, or worse yet, we test the bottom,” said Woods, chief market strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. Investors will closely watch Friday’s jobs report for July, with Woods looking for signs of a “Goldilocks” labor market that’s neither too hot nor too cold. “We’re hoping for that Goldilocks number, 4.3% on the unemployment front,” Woods said. “That won’t ruffle any feathers at the Fed as we continue to hear about that communication and what they’re doing with the path of interest rates.” Stocks to watch Meanwhile, more than a quarter (136) of the companies in the S & P 500 are scheduled to report results this week, including AMD , SanDisk , Western Digital , SpaceX , McDonald’s , Spotify and Palantir , with the first of them out postmarket Monday. SpaceX, which came public on June 12 and despite falling 18% from its IPO price still has a market value of $1.5 trillion, is set to release its first-ever earnings. Woods is focused on CEO Elon Musk’s outlook, the rocket maker’s path to profitability and upcoming expiration of insider lockups. “Any rally may be met with major resistance in the form of those lockups,” Woods said, pegging the $130 to $135 range as a potential ceiling. “If we get a nice rally, that is the price where the stock went public,” he added. SpaceX, whose IPO priced at $135 a share, closed at $108.37 on Friday. Woods is also watching Palantir, whose second-quarter financials are due after the market closes Monday, followed by a management webcast at 5 p.m. ET. The stock has traded between $120 and $130 and, despite beating expectations the past two earnings reports, declined after each one. Woods is watching whether Palantir will follow Microsoft and Amazon ‘s example when it comes to artificial intelligence spending and how it plans to capitalize on that investment. “Too much risk in this stock to take a chance,” Woods said, calling $120 a key support level. On McDonald’s, Woods sees optimism , particularly for long-term investors. “This is a good risk-reward setup,” he said. Woods identified $260 to $263 as support range and said a rally to $300 could be in the cards if the current earnings report is good enough. Woods is more cautious on Spotify, which he said has a chart pattern similar to Netflix . Woods said Spotify recently stalled at its 200-day moving average after a nice rally the past few weeks. He hopes a pullback from its current $500 might make it attractive, especially if the $485 level holds. “If not, Spotify could be in trouble for the next couple months,” he said. (This weekly Monday video is exclusively for CNBC PRO subscribers.)
Jobs report and earnings: What NYSE insider Jay Woods is watching this week
Aug 3, 2026
