Toronto, Canada, July 15, 2014 – Learn-To-Trade.com
, Toronto’s leading provider of professional stock market trading courses designed to create successful traders
on the financial market, is warning that the major stock indices may start to show signs of weakness as
second quarter earnings season gets under way. The company is also showing investors how they can protect and even grow their retirement portfolio even when the markets are depressed. After experiencing a fortuitous drop in the first part of the year, the major U.S.
stock indices have rebounded. The S&P 500 is up almost 13% since early February; over the same time period, the DOW Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ have advanced around 10%. However, there are concerns that these same markets might face selling pressure on fears about the Federal Reserve hiking interest rates, as well as negative first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data and weak corporate results, as the second quarter earnings season begins. “There are already signs that the second quarter earnings season, which only just began in earnest, could weigh heavily on the major U.S.
stock indices,” says George Karpouzis, co-founder and director of education at Learn-To-Trade.com. “In fact, the S&P 500, NASDAQ, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Russell 2000 are already showing signs of weakness.”
Karpouzis explains that investors are concerned that first-quarter GDP growth of -2.9% will weigh on corporate earnings. In fact, for the second quarter of 2014, 84 companies have issued negative EPS guidance and just 27 have issued positive EPS guidance. If these are the final numbers, that means 75% of Wall Street has issued negative
preannouncements. While this is an improvement over the 92 (81%) of companies that issued negative guidance in the first quarter of 2014, U.S.
real GDP grew 2.6% in the fourth quarter of 2013. (Source: “S&P 500 Negative and Positive
Preannouncements Q112 – Q214,”
Factset.com, July 1, 2014; www.factset.com/insight/2014/6/guidance_6.30.14#.U71MgvldXpw.) On top of that, Karpouzis notes that weak economic data from the U.K., Europe, Japan, and China do not bode well for America’s export market. Escalating tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine and the presence of U.S.
ground troops in Iraq could also propel oil prices higher and U.S.
stocks lower. This is at a time when companies, in an effort to boost weak earnings and revenues, continue to implement cost-cutting measures and boost share repurchase programs. “The good news is, regardless of where the stock market is heading, investors can protect themselves. That’s because there are a number of different investment strategies that can help investors make money no matter which direction the stock market is heading,” Karpouzis concludes. “Taking in-depth stock trading courses, such as those taught at Learn-To-Trade.com,
gives members the knowledge to succeed using proven technical analysis techniques, which can be applied to any financial market.” Learn-To-Trade.com is the leading provider of
stock market training courses in the Greater Toronto Area. Led by licensed industry professionals, Learn-To-Trade.com’s extensive stock market trading courses provide its members with all the tools necessary to trade financial products in today’s complex and fast-paced markets. Stock trading training courses with Learn-To-Trade.com teach investors both basic and advanced stock market investing principles, including how to read and understand stock prices and quotes, fundamental and technical analysis, and various trading strategies. Stock trading training at Learn-To-Trade.com also provides extensive training and knowledge in stock option trading, stock index trading, futures trading, futures option trading, forex trading, risk management, and capital preservation. Learn-To-Trade.com members utilize real-time, simulated trading platforms to paper trade until they gain the confidence to make independent market decisions and produce consistently profitable results. As the leading and oldest financial educator in Canada, Learn-To-Trade.com’s instructors are also educators for the
Toronto Montreal Exchange, as well as the TMX, through which it offers educational sessions to the major banks across Canada. To learn more about Learn-To-Trade.com, visit the company’s web site. Contact
Learn-To-Trade.com by phone at 416-510-5560 or e-mail Learn-To-Trade.com at info@Learn-To-Trade.com.