Stock markets hope earnings offset weak economic data

Market focus will shift from macro to micro next week, and investors betting on gains in stocks will hope coming earnings reports will be somewhat stronger than recent disappointing economic figures. Market bulls say softening economic data, including U.S. private sector jobs, factory activity and consumer spending, have weighed on stocks lately. While weak figures keep the Federal Reserve from raising rates - a positive for markets - the negative factors are a concern, said Daniel Morris, global investment strategist at TIAA-CREF in New York. "My guess is we’ve overdone it in terms of concern," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.

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