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Economic Calendar - Top 5 Things to Watch This Week

Published 24/02/2019, 11:08
Updated 24/02/2019, 11:33
© Reuters.

© Reuters.

Investing.com - Markets will be watching for any important developments on the U.S.-China trade front this week, as the two sides race to strike a deal before Friday's deadline. U.S. tariffs on $200 billion in imports from China are set to rise to 25% from 10% if no deal is reached by March 1.

Besides trade, there will also be important testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who appears Tuesday and Wednesday before congressional panels on the economy and monetary policy.

Several important economic reports also expected, with fourth-quarter GDP, which was delayed because of the 35-day government shutdown, topping the list.

The week ahead also marks the last big week of the fourth-quarter earnings season on Wall Street, with names like Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Macy's (NYSE:M) set to report.

A summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday and Thursday in Vietnam will also be on the agenda.

Elsewhere, in Europe, market players will focus on flash euro zone inflation figures, which may shed further light on the European Central Bank's monetary policy outlook.

Brexit will also occupy minds as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May faces another parliamentary vote on the exit deal she agreed with the European Union last year.

Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of the five biggest events on the economic calendar that are most likely to affect the markets.

1. U.S.-China Trade Deadline

U.S. and Chinese negotiators will meet again in Washington on Sunday, the sixth straight day of talks between the world's two biggest economies, as they race to seal an agreement before a March 1 deadline imposed by President Trump.

An industry source briefed on the talks said both sides have narrowed their differences on intellectual property rights, market access and narrowing a nearly $400 billion U.S. trade deficit with China. But bigger differences remain on changes to China's treatment of state-owned enterprises, subsidies, forced technology transfers and cyber theft.

The Chinese delegation is scheduled to leave for Beijing on Monday, according to a person familiar with their itinerary.

Trump said on Friday there was "a very good chance" a deal would be struck, and that he was inclined to extend his March 1 tariff deadline and meet soon with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

2. Fed Chair Powell Testifies

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will deliver his semi-annual monetary policy testimony on the economy before Senate and House committees in Washington DC.

Powell is scheduled to testify on the economy before the Senate Banking Committee at 10:00AM ET (15:00 GMT) Tuesday. On Wednesday, he will appear in front the House Financial Services Committee, also at 10AM ET.

Powell's comments will be monitored closely for any new insight on his views on the economy and how that can affect monetary policy in the months ahead.

After the Fed hiked rates four times in 2018, investors now expect the U.S. central bank to halt its monetary tightening policy this year as risks to the U.S. economy mount.

3. U.S. Advanced 4Q GDP

Investors will keep an eye on a preliminary reading of fourth-quarter U.S. growth due at 8:30AM ET (13:30 GMT) on Thursday for fresh clues on the strength of the economy.

The data, which was originally scheduled for Jan. 30 but delayed by the government shutdown, is expected to show the economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.4% in the last three months of 2018, cooling from growth of 3.4% in the preceding quarter.

This week's calendar also features data on personal income and spending, which includes personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation figures, the Fed's preferred metric for inflation.

Other top-tier economic data due this week includes the CB consumer confidence report, as well as the latest ISM survey on service sector activity.

4. Retailers Highlight Last Big Week of Earnings

While just 13 S&P 500 companies are due to report financial results this week, retailers are just getting started in what will be the last big wave of the fourth-quarter earnings season.

Home Depot and Macy's unofficially kicks things off when they both report on Tuesday; results from Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW), TJX (NYSE:TJX), L Brands (NYSE:LB), and Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) are on the agenda for Wednesday; Nordstrom (NYSE:JWN), JCPenney (NYSE:JCP) and Gap (NYSE:GPS) post results Thursday; while Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) is on tap for Friday morning.

Other high-profile names set to report this week also include Square (NYSE:SQ), Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL), HP (NYSE:HPQ), Box (NYSE:BOX), Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW), Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY), Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK), Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY), AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), Booking Holdings (NASDAQ:BKNG), Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB), SeaWorld (NYSE:SEAS), and Keurig Dr Pepper (NYSE:KDP).

5. Euro Zone Flash Inflation

The euro zone will publish flash inflation figures for February at 5:00AM ET (10:00 GMT) on Friday.

The consensus forecast is that the report will show consumer prices rose 1.5%, a tad quicker than the 1.4% increase a month earlier, but remaining short of the European Central Bank's target of just below 2%.

Perhaps more significantly, the core figure, without volatile energy and food prices, is seen holding steady at 1.1%, unchanged from the preceding month.

Germany, France, Italy and Spain will produce their own CPI reports throughout the week.

The ECB last month acknowledged that growth in the euro zone was likely to be weaker than previously expected, although it stuck to its guidance that it intends to raise interest rates later this year for the first time in a decade.

-- Reuters contributed to this report

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