Amid the intensifying Middle East tensions involving Iran and the US-Israel coalition, alongside rising energy costs, Wall Street faces a hectic schedule in the week ahead. The US Federal Reserve shall declare its interest rate verdict on Wednesday, accompanied by a media briefing by Chairman Jerome Powell. The monetary authority is broadly anticipated to maintain current borrowing costs.
Financial participants will also intently monitor the wholesale inflation data – Producer Price Index (PPI) – for February.
Regarding the corporate earnings season, shareholders’ attention will center on results from Micron Technology, FedEx, Alibaba, lululemon, and General Mills.
In the coming days, electronics equities will be the primary focus during Nvidia’s four-day GTC summit in San Jose, where CEO Jensen Huang shall give a speech. Additional industry leaders including Microsoft, Meta Platforms, and Tesla are likewise predicted to attend the event.
US Economic Calendar
March 16 (Monday), separate data on NY Empire State Manufacturing Index for March, industrial production MoM for February, capacity utilization for February, manufacturing production MoM for February, and NAHB Housing Market Index for March will be declared.
March 17 (Tuesday), data on pending home sales MoM for February will be issued.
March 18 (Wednesday), separate reports on PPI MoM for February, factory orders MoM for January, Federal Reserve interest rate decision, and FOMC economic projections will be released.
March 19 (Thursday), separate reports on overall net capital flows for January, building permits final for January, initial jobless claims for the week ended March 14, Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for March, and new home sales for January will be released.
Federal Reserve press conference will be held on Thursday.
March 21 (Saturday), Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech is scheduled.
Q4 Earnings
Following companies are due to report quarter results in the week ahead — Dollar Tree, lululemon, Tencent, Micron, Alibaba, FedEx, and XPeng.
US Stock Market Last Week
Wall Street’s losses deepened on Friday as the ongoing fallout from the war in Iran pushed oil prices higher, ratcheting up inflationary pressure on the global economy.
After briefly easing early Friday, crude oil prices rose again, bringing the benchmark Brent back above $100 a barrel.
A measure of inflation closely monitored by the Federal Reserve moved higher in January, even before the war with Iran sent energy prices higher.
On Friday, the S&P 500 fell 40.43 points, or 0.6%, to 6,632.19. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 119.38 points, or 0.3%, to 46,558.47. The Nasdaq Composite fell 206.62 points, or 0.9%, to 22,105.36.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 8.94 points, or 0.4% to 2,480.05.
For the week, the S&P 500 is down 107.83 points, or 1.6%. The Dow is down 943.08 points, or 2%. The Nasdaq is down 282.32 points, or 1.3%.
