Market Alert: Can JP Morgan (JPM) Avoid An Earnings Pitfall?

The market opened modestly higher this morning as investors were cautiously optimistic ahead of earnings reports this week, including key readings from the banking sector. Investors had been cautious as they prepare for earnings reports this week, including from some of the nation's largest financial firms. Banks have been among the hardest hit companies since the recession began in late 2007 as investment and loan losses piled up. The earnings results will give investors a chance to see if there was any meaningful economic improvement during the second quarter. With second quarter results not expected to be stellar, investors will instead be focusing on executives' "optimism or pessimism moving forward". Oil prices rose above $60 a barrel on, halting last week's falling trend, as investors turned to commodities for protection against a weaker dollar and after attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria. The dollar was down against the euro and the yen, luring investors to commodities like oil and gold as a hedge against the inflation risks posed by a weaker dollar.

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