Is the market detached from reality? | Stock picks for earnings season | Santoli on Apple, Microsoft Alphabet

Stocks ended the week at record highs, but some are wondering if the market is detached from reality.

VIEW IN BROWSER | SUBSCRIBE SAT, JAN 18, 2020 WEEKEND BRIEF EDITOR'S NOTE Stocks ended the week at new record highs, trading on hopes that corporate earnings will rise and the global economy will improve.   Of course, there's no guarantee that either of these things will happen. So stocks appear to be detached from reality, writes CNBC's Yun Li.   "People are getting too optimistic in the short-term," said Tom Essaye, founder of The Sevens Report. "We keep pricing in all this really good stuff that's going to happen, but it has not shown up yet."   An obvious question to ask at this point is, who is buying all these stocks? Karen Firestone, CEO of Aureus Asset Management has a theory, and says it's not her most comforting thought about the bull market.   Michael Santoli, CNBC's senior markets commentator, writes that much of the boom we've seen is concentrated in a handful of stocks. The focus has been on big companies with reliable cash flows that investors believe will endure dips and disruptions — and there just aren't very many of these.   There are still plenty of  other ideas to explore, though. CNBC's Michael Bloom has put together a list of stocks that analysts believe will get a nice pop for those who buy them ahead of earnings announcements.   In the week ahead, it will be earnings announcements that most likely decide the market's direction, writes CNBC's Patti Domm.   Jonathan Golub, chief U.S. market strategist at Credit Suisse, is optimistic that earnings will turn the corner this year. "2019 was a year of lousy earnings, and the fourth quarter is the end of a lousy year," he said. "What the real story here is, it looks like magically the 2020 numbers are going to be much, much stronger than 2019."   Markets are closed Monday for Martin Luther King Day. Enjoy the extended weekend and thanks for reading Weekend Brief.  Email your thoughts at EveningBrief@nbcuni.com or follow me on Twitter @tellittoal.   Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world. Al Lewis | CNBC Markets Editor @tellittoal MICHAEL SANTOLI'S MARKET COLUMN In the stock market, it's become Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet vs everyone else   THE WEEK AHEAD Trade deal and earnings season could shape the market's next moves   YOUR WEEKEND BRIEFING  Stocks appear detached from reality, rallying in anticipation of two things that may not happen Buy these top stocks ahead of earnings, including Netflix and Guess, Wall Street analysts say A theory on who's doing all the buying that's pushing stocks higher and higher     Unsubscribe Manage Newsletters Terms of Service Join the CNBC Panel Digital Products Feedback Privacy Policy   © 2020 CNBC LLC. All rights reserved. A property of NBCUniversal. 900 Sylvan Avenue, Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes and Market Data and Analysis. Data also provided by THOMSON REUTERS