Earnings Updates, July Gains and Why August Could Be Quirky

Wildfire smoke hits Chicago, and August market volatility looms. Amgen and Pfizer raise earnings forecasts after beating Q2 expectations. Get the latest on earnings and DI model portfolio performance.

The smoke from wildfires in Saskatchewan and Manitoba caused hazy skies and a new round of air quality alerts here in Chicago. That is never good for people like me who have asthma or other respiratory issues. Mr. Market may also start coughing this month due to a presidential quirk. I’ll explain why as well as cover this week’s earnings news along with the DI model portfolio’s July performance.

I’ll start with the deets:

• Both Amgen Inc. (AMGN) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE) raised their full-year profit guidance after beating second-quarter earnings expectations.

• The DI model portfolio rose for third consecutive month in July, boosted by double-digit gains in six stocks.

• The August heat has fatigued the S&P 500 index during the post-election years of all second-term presidents since the 1950s.