A busy week looms for markets with the release of PCE inflation data, Nvidia earnings, and the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium, as investors parse inflation signals, tech results, and policy guidance.
The article previews the key drivers likely to move stocks in the upcoming trading session, including notable earnings reports, macroeconomic data releases, and Federal Reserve signals, with traders positioning ahead of these events.
Markets head into a relatively quiet five-day stretch focused on earnings from Walmart and other big-box retailers (WMT, BABA, ROST, DE on Thursday; BJ on Friday) after Baidu kicks off the week with AI cloud revenue. The data calendar features Tuesday’s industrial production and manufacturing data and housing starts, Wednesday’s Fed minutes, and Friday’s S&P Global US manufacturing PMI. Investors are weighing inflation dynamics and consumer sentiment, which cooled in August, while AI capital expenditure and energy/dollar factors add to macro headwinds. Overall, last week’s mixed moves keep markets cautious as earnings and data unfold.
Treasury yields rose ahead of the June producer price index data, with the 10-year at 4.612%, the 2-year at 4.225% and the 30-year at 5.118%, as traders await the PPI print; consensus expects June PPI to be flat with a 0.3% core gain after a cooler CPI raised hopes for a potential Fed rate cut later this year.
U.S. stocks closed at fresh record highs on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 above 7,600 and the Dow up about 229 points as the Nasdaq barely rose; futures were little changed after the session. Investors eye upcoming ADP payrolls and the final durable goods report, while analysts warn of a potential summer pause despite AI-driven demand. Medtronic and Macy’s are due to report before Wednesday’s opening bell, and after-hours moves included Palo Alto Networks, GitLab and Ulta Beauty amid ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
U.S. stock futures rose ahead of a busy data calendar, with investors eyeing inflation and growth indicators while weighing the potential impact of President Trump's visit to China; broad-market tech names showed strength in premarket trading amid a cautious, data-driven backdrop.
Stocks closed higher, led by the Dow, as investors weighed PCE and GDP data alongside strong earnings from Meta, Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft, while Treasury yields eased after earlier spikes.
U.S. stock futures declined after the Fed kept rates unchanged and oil climbed on Middle East tensions; the Dow and S&P fell while the Nasdaq edged higher, with Meta dropping about 7% after-hours on weak user growth, Microsoft flat, Alphabet up around 7% on strong revenue/cloud performance, and Amazon rising ~3% on cloud growth. Regular trading saw mixed results across indices, and investors await earnings from Lilly, Mastercard, Merck, Caterpillar, Roku, Apple, Rivian, Roblox, and Twilio, along with key economic data on initial jobless claims, Q1 GDP, personal income/spending, and the PCE price index.
Asian equities rose after Wall Street closed at new highs, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumping about 2.6% to a record 59,624 and Korea’s KOSPI also higher. China beat expectations with Q1 GDP up 5.0% and March industrial production up 5.7% (retail sales +1.7%), signaling resilient growth despite domestic demand mixed signals. Sentiment was aided by hopes for progress in U.S.–Iran diplomacy and AI-related optimism, while Australia’s job data showed unemployment steady at 4.3% amid ongoing hiring strength.
U.S. stock index futures edged higher after reports that Iran is seeking peace, potentially closing the Middle East conflict. Dow Jones futures rose about 0.2%, S&P 500 futures roughly 0.3% higher, and Nasdaq-100 futures around 0.4% higher, as traders weigh key upcoming U.S. data and Fed signals while oil prices climbed on supply concerns.
Mortgage rates jumped back into the low-6% zone at the start of the week as markets weigh oil-price pressures and geopolitical headlines around Iran; analysts say the oil-inflation link explains only part of the move and that upcoming economic data could be a bigger driver, with volatility amplified by geopolitical risk.
Mortgage rates stayed near long-term lows at about 6.00% for the 30-year fixed, with little day-to-day movement as the bond market remained calm and the economic calendar produced no major movers; quotes are largely unchanged from yesterday, with future moves awaiting key data.
Stock futures and major indices fell about 0.3%–0.5% as traders brace for a busy slate of U.S. economic reports (including jobless claims and the Philly Fed Manufacturing Index) and Fed speeches ahead of the FOMC; the Philly Fed index rose, signaling mixed near-term signals.
US stock index futures fell in holiday-thinned trading as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s January minutes and a slate of key data later this week, with Nasdaq-100 futures down about 0.8%, S&P 500 futures off 0.5% and Dow Jones futures down 0.3%. Traders will scan the Fed minutes, Fed speakers, industrial production, durable goods, December trade data, and Friday’s PCE inflation report for clues on the path of rates, following mild inflation data last week that tempered gains and kept tech volatility in focus. Trading volumes were light due to the market holiday.
U.S. retail sales were unchanged in December, missing economists’ expectations of about 0.4% growth and reversing November’s gain. The flat month came as furniture and miscellaneous stores fell (-0.9% each) while home improvement rose 1.2%, and the control group slipped 0.1%. The report, seasonally adjusted but not inflation-adjusted, was delayed by last year’s government shutdown. Despite slower hiring and stubborn inflation, Americans haven’t slashed spending, but December’s stagnation suggests consumer activity may be nearing a spending ceiling.