Market Watch: S&P 500 futures contract gained 9 points or 0.2%, Nasdaq 100 futures gained 58 points or 0.3%, and Dow futures increased 40 points or 0.1%.
US stock futures rise after holiday, with Federal Reserve’s inflation measure release and corporate earnings potentially revealing consumer health.
Consumer Confidence Data
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence survey is set to release its latest reading on Tuesday, with analysts expecting a slight fall to 96.0, a potential leading indicator of consumer spending, from 97.0 in the previous month. Confidence fell to its lowest level in over a year.
Earnings
The quarterly earnings season is slowing down, but several companies are preparing to report their latest returns. Salesforce is expected to meet Wall Street expectations due to a recovery in spending by small and medium-sized businesses. Costco Wholesale and Ulta Beauty will provide insights into the U.S. consumer market.
Alibaba Health surges
Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba Health Information Technology surged after a 91% increase in adjusted net profit to 1.44 billion yuan ($200 million) for the year to March 31, largely due to improved margins and strong demand for healthcare services and pharmaceuticals on its platforms.
Economic Calendar
- 12:55 Fed’s Mester Speech
- 9:00 S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index
- 9:00 FHFA House Price Index
- 9:55 Fed’s Kashkari Speech
- 10:00 Consumer Confidence
- 10:30 Dallas Fed Manufacturing Survey
- 11:30 Results of $69B, 2-Year Note Auction
- 1:00 PM Results of $70B, 5-Year Note Auction
- 1:00 PM Money Supply
- 1:05 PM Fed’s Cook Speech
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Recent data indicating a possible cooling in the U.S. economy have alleviated some persistent inflation concerns, fueling hopes that the Federal Reserve will start to bring interest rates down from more than two-decade highs as soon as September. Along with the Dow, the benchmark and tech-heavytouched record marks last week.
The durability of the strength on Wall Street will likely be tested by a fresh batch of corporate results this week, including quarterly returns from artificial intelligence darling Nvidia (see below). Durable goods and consumer sentiment data will also be in focus as markets hunt for more evidence that growth is moderating enough to give the Fed justification for rolling out rate cuts this year.
Recent data indicating a possible cooling in the U.S. economy have alleviated some persistent inflation concerns, fueling hopes that the Federal Reserve will start to bring interest rates down from more than two-decade highs as soon as September. Along with the Dow,
The durability of the strength on Wall Street will likely be tested by a fresh batch of corporate results this week, including quarterly returns from artificial intelligence darling Nvidia (see below). Durable goods and consumer sentiment data will also be in focus as markets hunt for more evidence that growth is moderating enough to give the Fed justification for rolling out rate cuts this year.
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MFitch Ratings has downgraded China’s credit rating outlook to “Negative” from “Stable” due to concerns over growing public debt and slowing growth in the world’s second-largest economy. The agency affirmed China’s rating at A+, citing increasing risks to China’s public finance outlook. Concerns over slowing economic growth have grown in recent months, with Fitch expecting gross domestic product growth to fall to 4.5% in 2024.
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U.S. inflation data for February is expected to provide insights into the future direction of Federal Reserve monetary policy. The overall consumer price index (CPI) is expected to match the previous month’s pace of 3.1% annually, with the core CPI expected to slow to 3.7% from 3.9% in January. However, the month-on-month gauge is expected to shed light on price gains momentum.
Fed officials have made cooling inflation the main objective of interest rate hikes, which have brought borrowing costs to over two-decade highs. They suggest cuts may be coming later this year, but need more evidence that price growth is sustainablely easing back down to their 2% annualized target. Analysts at ING believe inflation is likely too hot for comfort.
U.S. inflation data for February is expected to provide insights into the future direction of Federal Reserve monetary policy. The overall consumer price index (CPI) is expected to match the previous month’s pace of 3.1% annually, with the core CPI expected to slow to 3.7% from 3.9% in January. However, the month-on-month gauge is expected to shed light on price gains momentum.
Fed officials have made cooling inflation the main objective of interest rate hikes, which have brought borrowing costs to over two-decade highs. They suggest cuts may be coming later this year, but need more evidence that price growth is sustainablely easing back down to their 2% annualized target. Analysts at ING believe inflation is likely too hot for comfort.