By Dominique Paul, Research Analyst

There are not many domestic economic releases today to move the market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is trading less than 100 points away from the 18000 level after rising off of session lows. 18,000 is appearing to be a real resistance level for the index. Its value is greatly influenced by the earnings reports by its components. Last earnings season, we saw many corporations report in-line or beat, however, the stocks were hammered due to the issuance of in-line or downside EPS and revenue guidance. Last Wednesday, Alcoa (AA) unofficially kicked off earnings season with a bit of a whimper, missing on both top and bottom line. The company did indicate that business was booming in the aerospace, automotive, and alumina industries. Hopefully, with the positive economic data we saw for the months of April, May and June, more companies will release stellar earnings reports.

Of course, geopolitical concerns will also impact how the market performs. All the major indices began gapping higher this morning with news that Greece and its creditors are finally close to reaching a deal to save the country from bankruptcy. Chinese markets continued higher after being down almost 40% from June.  Finally, we continue to wait to see if there will be a deal between Iran and the US.  We can’t forget how the markets fell with the rapid decline in crude oil futures. A deal with Iran could continue to pressure this commodity.  Nevertheless, a positive earnings season could help propel The Dow back to all-time highs.