The U.S. markets were closed on Monday in observance of Presidents’ Day, however stocks in Europe mostly posted solid gains to kick off the week. Meanwhile, the futures are suggesting a positive start to today’s trading on our shores. In the overnight, shares in Asia ended their session mixed. And in Europe, which was close to wrapping up its trading day, stocks were on the plus side.
This shortened week’s economic calendar is relatively light. Today, investors will be tuning in to see if President Donald Trump follows through on his previously mentioned intent to place tariffs on oil and gas, though no specific countries have yet been mentioned.
On Wednesday, we’ll get two key data points on the state of the home construction market. The Census Bureau will release its figures for January housing starts. Wall Street is looking for a dip to 1.39 million units, down from the 1.499 million logged for the month before. It will also report on building permits for last month. The consensus is calling for this forward indicator to show a decline to 1.46 million, versus 1.482 million in December. Additionally, the Federal Reserve is due to release the minutes from the last Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that day. Although Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has signaled that the central bank is not in a hurry to trim its overnight lending rate further, traders will be poring over the report to glean some insight on monetary policy going forward.
Thursday we’ll hear from the Department of Labor with the latest numbers for initial unemployment claims. Estimates suggest a slight uptick to 214,000 claims, versus 213,000 the week before. For Friday, the National Association of Realtors will weigh in with its totals for existing home sales for January. Here too, a seasonal decline is expected, with a total of 4.13 million, down from 4.24 million the month before.
In the meantime, earnings season is winding down. Among the higher-profile names scheduled to announce this week are Arista Networks (ANET) after today’s market close. Tomorrow we’ll hear from Analog Devices (ADI), followed by Walmart (WMT) and Booking (BKNG) on Thursday, and Constellation Energy (CEG) on Friday. – Mario Ferro
At the time of this article’s writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.
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