The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Goldman Sachs (GS) with fraud on Friday, and by the end of the day, the company’s shares had fallen 13 percent. Other banks suffered losses, too, though less severe. The volatility index moved up markedly, as investors struggled to comprehend the repercussions to the financial sector and to the broader market. For the day, the Dow fell 1.13 percent, the S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent, and the Nasdaq fell 1.37 percent. For the week, the Dow gained a mere .2 percent, the Nasdaq gained 1.1 percent, and the S&P 500 suffered a loss of .2 percent.

Quarterly results that failed to meet high expectations were also a factor in the market’s performance. Next week, quarterly earnings reports from 123 S&P companies and from eleven Dow companies will be made public. Investors expect strong earnings, and analysts think that the market has already priced in those expectations. During two previous quarters with positive earnings, the market has rallied at the beginning of the season, only to pull back as data failed to exceed forecasts.

Most of the week’s economic reports will be released near the end of the week. On Thursday, the Producer Price Index for March is expected to advance by 0.4 percent, in contrast to February’s decline of 0.6 percent. Initial jobless claims for the week are expected to come in at 460,000 compared to last week’s 484,000. Although initial claims may fall, investors continue to be wary of an economy that fails to create new jobs. Sales figures for existing homes during the month of March will be released on Thursday. On an annual basis, analysts expect the figure to reflect sales of 5.28 million homes, compared to the February figure of 5.02 million.

Friday will bring the figures for new home sales. March’s data, adjusted to project annual sales, is forecast at 330,000, a gain over the February figure of 308,000. Also on Friday, durable goods figures for March will be released. Indications are that orders rose 0.3 percent, compared to February’s gain of 0.9 percent.

5 Stocks to Watch

We're watching five stocks for follow-through this week. The fives stocks:

Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. (DKS)
Ecolab Inc. (ECL)
Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc. (PRX)
TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (TRW)
The Valspar Corporation (VAL)

Dave Mecklenburg is the Editor-in-Chief of TigerSharkTrading.com.