Looking ahead from Q2 earnings season

THE US Q2 earnings season is nearing its end. Over 80 per cent of companies have reported their earnings, and most of the remaining companies will do so by end-Aug.

Overall, the earnings continue to be encouraging. A large majority of S&P500 companies beat consensus forecasts in both earnings and sales, and all sectors showed positive earnings growth.

There is still some differentiation in earnings growth between sectors. Traditionally cyclical sectors such as financials, industrials, and materials, saw triple-digit percentage growth (qoq) in earnings.