Market Overview and Key Reports

Stocks have had quite an eventful week, with several reports and analyses making waves. Unemployment claims figures are set to be released live on Squawk Box at 8:30 a.m. ET tomorrow. The forecast is pegged at 220,000 claims.

The Canadian banking sector is also in focus, with three major banks reporting before markets open on Thursday. The Bank of Montreal is one of them, having seen its stock rise by 3% over the last three months, though it’s down nearly 4% from a high reached on September 29. Meanwhile, the Imperial Bank of Canada’s stock has climbed 11% since its last report three months ago, despite ending the day down slightly after hitting a new 52-week high. Toronto-Dominion Bank has also made headlines, with its stock climbing 13% in three months, although it too saw a slight decline after achieving a new high.

The airline industry is certainly on an upward trend this week, with the S&P index climbing 5.13% in just three days. Notably, United Airlines’ stock improved by 6%, while Delta gained 5%. Southwest Airlines, however, has seen a drop of 6% from its July high, despite a 3% rise this week. In contrast, JetBlue is up about 2% this week, but it hasn’t been faring well overall, down 43% from its January peak. American Airlines has shown more resilience, climbing about 4% recently and up 24% since January.

On the utilities front, the S&P sector has dipped by 3.4% this week and is now down 6% from an October peak. However, there is a silver lining: the year-to-date growth stands at 15% for 2025.

The semiconductor sector is another bright spot, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) gaining 4.8% this week and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) rising by 6.2%. Companies like Microchip Technology, Intel, and NXP are leading these gains, each showing significant rises. Oddly, major players Nvidia and Broadcom were the only two to see declines last week.

In other news, Ulta Beauty is set to report after the market closes. Its stock has increased by 2.5% since the last earnings report and is just under 5% from a peak it reached in early October. Cybersecurity firm SentinelOne also has an earnings call scheduled, although its stock has dropped approximately 6% since the last report, reflecting a 38% decrease over the year. Interestingly, it saw a 5% rise in just two days recently.

Lastly, ChargePoint, which provides EV charging stations, will be reporting soon as well. Its stock has declined 23% since the last report three months ago and plummeted a staggering 64% from a year ago.