A packed week of fourth-quarter earnings reports and interest-rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank will keep investors busy.
The Federal Open Market Committee will announce a policy decision on Wednesday. Markets are overwhelmingly pricing in no change in interest rates. The focus will be on the press conference with Fed Chair Jerome Powell. The ECB is expected to cut its benchmark interest rate target on Thursday.
Fourth-quarter earnings season shifts into high gear this week. On Monday, AT&T and Nucor report, followed by General Motors, Lockheed Martin, and Starbucks on Tuesday.
Wednesday will be busy: ASML Holding, Danaher, General Dynamics, IBM, Lam Research, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Tesla, T-Mobile US, Waste Management, and Western Digital all report.
Apple, Caterpillar, Comcast, Intel, Mastercard, Southwest Airlines, United Parcel Service, and Visa publish quarterly results on Thursday, then Charter Communications, Chevron, and Exxon Mobil close the week on Friday.
Economic data releases to watch this week will include the Census Bureau’s durable goods report for December on Tuesday, the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ advance estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth on Thursday, and the BEA’s personal consumption expenditures price index for December on Friday.
Monday 1/27
Alexandria Real Estate Equities, AT&T, Brown & Brown, Nucor, SoFi Technologies, and W.R. Berkley announce earnings.
The Census Bureau reports new-home sales for December. Consensus estimate is for a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 670,000 new single-family homes sold, slightly more than in November.
Tuesday 1/28
GM, Invesco, Kimberly-Clark, Lockheed Martin, NVR, Paccar, Royal Caribbean Group, RTX, SAP, Starbucks, Stryker, Synchrony Financial, and Sysco report quarterly results.
The Census Bureau releases the durable goods report for December. New orders for manufactured durable goods are expected to increase 0.8% month over month to $287 billion.
Wednesday 1/29
ASML, Automatic Data Processing, Ameriprise Financial, C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Corning, Danaher, General Dynamics, Hess, IBM, Lam Research, Las Vegas Sands, Lennox International, Meta, Microsoft, MSCI, Nasdaq, Norfolk Southern, Otis Worldwide, Raymond James Financial, ServiceNow, Stifel, Teradyne, Tesla, T-Mobile, United Rentals, Waste Management, and Western Digital release earnings.
The Federal Open Market Committee announces its monetary policy decision. The FOMC is widely expected to keep the federal-funds rate unchanged at 4.25% to 4.5%. With the economy and labor market still resilient, and inflation stubbornly above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, the central bank is in wait-and-see mode as it assesses incoming economic data.
Thursday 1/30
Altria Group, Apple, Arthur J. Gallagher, Blackstone, Cardinal Health, Caterpillar, Cigna Group, Comcast, Deckers Outdoor, Dover, Dow, Intel, International Paper, KLA, L3Harris Technologies, Marsh & McLennan, Mastercard, Northrop Grumman, Parker-Hannifin, PulteGroup, ResMed, Roper Technologies, Sherwin-Williams, Southwest, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Tractor Supply, UPS, Valero Energy, and Visa hold conference calls to discuss quarterly results.
The European Central Bank announces its monetary policy decision. Traders are certain that the ECB will cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to 2.75%. The central bank cut rates four times last year, beginning in June, bringing the deposit facility rate from 4% to 3%.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its advance estimate of fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth. The consensus call is for GDP to have grown at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.6%, following 3.1% growth in the third quarter.
The National Association of Realtors reports its Pending Home Sales Index for December. The PHS Index, a leading indicator of housing activity, is seen declining 1% month over month, after having risen four consecutive months.
Friday 1/31
AbbVie, AON, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Charter Communications, Chevron,Church & Dwight, Colgate-Palmolive, Eaton, Exxon Mobil, Franklin Resources, LyondellBasell Industries, Novartis, Phillips 66, Revvity, and W.W. Grainger report earnings.
The BEA releases the personal consumption expenditures price index for December. Economists forecast a 2.5% year-over-increase, one-tenth of a percentage point more than in November. The core PCE index, which excludes food and energy prices, is expected to rise 2.8%, matching the November figure.
The Institute for Supply Management releases its Chicago Business Barometer for January. Consensus estimate is for a 39.6 reading, roughly three points more than in December.
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