The main event for investors this week will be the monetary policy decision from the Federal Reserve’s interest rate-setting committee on Wednesday afternoon. Officials are expected to raise the central bank’s benchmark interest rate target range by a quarter of a percentage point, to 0.25% to 0.50%. It would be the first hike by the Fed since 2018.
This week’s earnings highlights will include Vail Resorts and Coupa Software on Monday, Lennar on Wednesday, and FedEx, GameStop, and Dollar General on Thursday. American Express also hosts an investor day on Wednesday.
Economic data out this week will include the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ producer price index for February on Tuesday. Wholesale prices are expected to have soared 10% year over year. Other February data releases include the Census Bureau’s retail sales on Wednesday and the Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index on Friday. There will also be housing market data on Wednesday and Friday.
Monday 3/14
Coupa Software, Gitlab, and Vail Resorts report quarterly results.
Tuesday 3/15
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the producer price index for February. The PPI is expected to jump 10% year over year, while the core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is seen rising 8.7%. This compares with increases of 9.7% and 8.3%, respectively, in January. The 10% estimate would be the largest increase on record since 12-month data were first calculated in 2010.
Wednesday 3/16
The Census Bureau reports retail sales data for February. Spending on retail sales and food is expected to increase 0.3% month over month, to $652 billion. Retail sales jumped 3.8% in January.
Home builder Lennar reports first-quarter fiscal-2022 earnings.
The Federal Open Market Committee announces its monetary-policy decision. The FOMC is expected to raise the federal-funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.25%-0.5%. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell all but announced this move in his testimony before Congress in early March. This would be the first increase to the federal-funds rate since December 2018 and very likely begins a yearlong cycle of rate hikes as the Federal Reserve battles four-decade high inflation. Wall Street has currently priced in seven quarter-point increases for this year.
Agilent Technologies, Coopers Cos., and Starbucks hold their annual shareholder meetings.
American Express holds its company investor day.
The National Association of Home Builders releases its Housing Market Index for March. Consensus estimate is for an 80 reading, two points below the February figure. The index is below its late 2020 peak, but builders remain bullish on the housing market despite the twin headwinds of rising mortgage rates and supply shortages.
Thursday 3/17
Accenture, Dollar General, FedEx, and GameStop hold conference calls to discuss quarterly results.
Friday 3/18
The Bank of Japan announces its monetary-policy decision. The BOJ is expected to leave its key short-term interest rate unchanged at negative 0.1%. The central bank is bucking the trend of the majority of nations in raising interest rates despite the highest Japanese consumers’ expectations of inflation on record.
The National Association of Realtors reports existing-home sales for February. Economists forecast a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million homes sold, 400,000 fewer than in January.
The Conference Board releases its Leading Economic Index for February. Expectations are for a 120 reading, roughly even with the January data. The Conference Board predicts a 3% growth rate for gross domestic product this year, above historical trends.
