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Wall Street Waits for Fed FOMC and Key Economic Data
We have a consequential week in the markets ahead of us — perhaps the most consequential week we’ve seen so far this year. Not only do we have a new Fed funds rate out mid-week (expectations are for a 25 bps bump to a 4.50-4.75% range), but we also get roughly 20% of the S&P 500 reporting quarterly earnings before Friday’s closing bell.
Among those companies reporting, we’re now in a “free for all” in terms of sectors accounting for their past quarters, A normal earnings season starts with Big Banks and moves to Big Tech, ending with Restaurants and Retailers in the final stages. Now it’s everyone: Apple (AAPL - Free Report) , Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) , Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) , Ford (F - Free Report) , McDonald's (MCD - Free Report) and AMD (AMD - Free Report) .
Today we’ll here from Whirlpool (WHR - Free Report) , among others, after the closing bell. The Durable Goods staple of home appliances limps into earnings season with a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell). As consumers become a little more discriminatory in terms of their purchases, we shall see if Whirlpool is able to manage its way through this rough patch.
In addition, monthly jobs numbers from the private sector via ADP (ADP - Free Report) and the U.S. government (BLS) are out Wednesday and Friday, respectively, along with JOLTS figures and weekly Jobless Claims. Case-Shiller home prices and ISM Manufacturing and Services join the party throughout the week, as well. Suffice it to say we’ll be in a new zone by the end of this week than we are here at the beginning.
Following another solid week of gains — which is sizing up to be one of the strongest January trading months in years — pre-market futures are selling off some of their profits: the Dow is -150 points at this hour, the S&P 500 is -30 and the Nasdaq -130. This is not to say market participants are cooling on overall prospects in equities, but after last year’s half-dozen or so head-fakes, investors appear to believe it’s best not to get far out ahead of the data soon to come.