This week brings 451 earnings reports over three sessions: 116 on Tuesday, 138 on Wednesday, and 160 on Thursday. That many updates in a short time can quickly change sector trends and overall market sentiment. HSBC is a key read on credit conditions through bank results and management commentary. Walmart is a gauge of consumer demand, margins, and store traffic. Alibaba is often used as a proxy for China, with earnings expected to fall sharply year over year.

Key Technical Levels And Near Term Setups

HSBC is in a short-term downtrend after breaking below its 6 February low. Pre-market is near $88, around the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement. $88.18 is the first resistance level, and the 1H Stochastic RSI is overbought. Walmart is expected to open near $128.90, back inside its consolidation range. Support is at $126.88, the pivot is $129.40, and the range high is $131.76. The key question is whether price can hold above $129.40 and avoid slipping back toward $126.88. Alibaba is still in a short-term downtrend. It has support near $152.80 at the 78.6% retracement. If $152.80 breaks, the next level is near $145 at the 100% retracement. Resistance sits at $157–$160. 1H momentum is deeply oversold, with price in the mid-$150s.

How Last Years Earnings Week Can Inform Positioning

A heavy wave of earnings can move markets even when geopolitics seems like the main driver. In the dense earnings week of February 2025, several core assumptions were challenged across major sectors. Those lessons still matter for positioning in the weeks ahead. Last year, HSBC’s results offered an early warning on global financial health. Its Q4 2024 report, released in mid-February 2025, showed an 80% drop in pre-tax profit, mainly due to a large write-down on its stake in a Chinese bank. This is a reminder that financials can flag stress in credit conditions. If guidance from major banks turns cautious again, traders may consider protective puts on banking ETFs to hedge against unexpected weakness in the economy’s core. During that same period, Walmart helped measure consumer strength. It beat earnings expectations but gave cautious guidance for the year. This matched January 2025 data showing retail sales had stalled, suggesting consumers were becoming more selective. Today, traders can use options to express a view on consumer discretionary versus consumer staples ETFs, because signs of slowing growth often benefit necessities over non-essentials. Alibaba provided a read on China. Its February 2025 report showed its slowest quarterly revenue growth on record, reflecting broader economic headwinds. That weakness also showed up in China’s official manufacturing PMI, which stayed below 50 (contraction) for a fourth straight month in January 2025. Looking ahead, this supports using straddles or strangles on China-focused ETFs to prepare for a larger move, since any surprise in guidance could trigger a fast repricing. The core lesson from last year is that earnings season can create volatility even when markets look calm. With the VIX near multi-year lows around 14, option premiums are relatively cheap. This may be a good time to add defensive hedges, such as put spreads on major indices, in case upbeat economic expectations prove wrong. Create your live VT Markets account and start trading now.

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