The Last Week in Review:

Stocks ended last week snapping a four-day winning streak, but profit taking on a light volume day Friday did little to diminish a strong performance during what is historically the worst month of the year for stocks and a seasonally weak quarter. The S&P 500 put in its largest third quarter gain (5.2%) since 1997 and the Dow tested its all time record close.

The Dow added 170 points for the week and is now up 8.9% for the year. The S&P 500 rallied 21 points, increasing its annual gain to 7.8%, but is still 15% below its all time high. The NASDAQ added 39 points and is now up 2.4% year-to-date. The Russell 2000 rose 7 points and is up 7.8% year-to-date.

Investors seemed to be pre-occupied with the pace of economic growth even though the S&P 500 had its largest third quarter gain (5.2%) since 1997. The market had also been in a holding pattern until the release of the Chicago PMI last week, which gave a solid reading of 62.1 for September, the best reading this year.

The Week Ahead

The earnings reports will be light again this week, but a few big market moving names are set to announce. Soft drink bottler Pepsi Bottling (PBG) will release results on Tuesday. Semiconductor company Micron (MU) is schedule to report results on Wednesday, while beverage giant Constellation Brands (STZ) and electronics manufacturer Solectron (SLR) release earnings on Thursday. Ford (F) and General Motors (GM) report September sales results also on Tuesday. September Retail Sales will be released on Wednesday. On Thursday, Starbucks (SBX) meets with analysts on Thursday.

The conference schedule is rather light this week and begins on Tuesday with the two-day Bio Human Resources Conference at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. Also on Tuesday Citigroup holds an Ethanol and Biofuels Conference in New York. The Standard & Poors Healthcare Seminar in New York City begins Thursday and the Merrill Lynch Small Cap Conference in New York is on Friday.

This week a flurry of economic news and will impact the market. Releases for August Construction Spending and the September ISM Index are released on Monday. September Auto and Truck sales will be announced on Tuesday along with August Factory Orders. The September ISM Services September and Crude Oil Inventories will be released on Wednesday. On Friday the September Average Workweek, Hourly Earnings, Non-farm Payrolls, and Unemployment Rate will be released before the bell, followed by the announcement of the August Consumer Credit Report Friday afternoon.

In summary, investors should focused on the September ISM Index and the September Employment Report this week.

Stay tuned!