Wall St The Week Ahead: US economy in focus as the Fed reveals minutes
WITH economic data being shovelled aside like snow and earnings season winding down, US stock investors could zero in this week on the Fed’s view of the economy and technical analysis charts as the S&P 500 nears its record high.
The Fed writes the script for Wall Street. The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting of its policy-setting committee will be published on Wednesday, the second trading day of a holiday-shortened week in the United States. The US stock market will be closed today for Presidents Day.
Investor interest in the minutes of the meeting will focus on discussions surrounding the Fed’s forward guidance. The US central bank’s 6.5 per cent unemployment threshold for considering an interest-rate increase seems stale with the jobless rate now at 6.6 per cent.
The Fed doesn’t expect to start raising rates until at least late next year. So Wall Street will concentrate on the Fed’s manoeuvring over how to adjust this guidance, which is supportive of higher equity prices.
Traditionally market-moving numbers this week include US housing starts on Wednesday and existing home sales on Friday, as well as producer and consumer price inflation on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
Coca-Cola, the world’s largest soft drink company, will post fourth-quarter earnings tomorrow before the opening bell.
Wal-Mart is expected to report fourth-quarter results on Thursday, and more importantly, the world’s largest retailer will give its 2014 earnings forecast.