To The Moon

First-quarter earnings season continues this week, with more than 150 S&P 500 companies scheduled to report their results for the first three months of 2022. A Federal Reserve interest-rate decision and Jobs Friday will be the economic-data highlights of the week.

The earnings parade begins with Clorox, Devon Energy, Expedia Group, and NXP Semiconductors on Monday, followed by a busy Tuesday: Advanced Micro Devices, Airbnb, Biogen, BP, DuPont, Marathon Petroleum, Paramount Global, Pfizer, and Starbucks all report.

Wednesday’s highlights will include Booking Holdings, CVS Health, eBay, Etsy, Moderna, and Uber Technologies. Then Anheuser-Busch InBev, ConocoPhillips, Illumina, Royal Caribbean Group, and Shell report on Thursday and Cigna and Under Armour close the week on Friday.

The Federal Open Market Committee concludes a two-day meeting on Wednesday, when it will announce a monetary-policy decision. Market pricing overwhelming implies expectations of an interest-rate increase of half a percentage point, to a Fed Funds target range of 0.75% to 1%.

Economists will also be closely watching the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ April jobs report on Friday morning. The average forecast is for a gain of 375,000 nonfarm payrolls, compared with an increase of 431,000 in March.

Other economic data out this week will include the Institute for Supply Management’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for April on Monday, followed by the Services equivalent on Wednesday.

Monday 5/2

Arista Networks, Clorox, Coterra Energy, Devon Energy, Expedia Group, Moody’s, NXP Semiconductors, SolarEdge Technologies, and Williams Cos. report quarterly results.

The Institute for Supply Management releases its Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for April. Consensus estimate is for a 57.7 reading, roughly even with the March data.

Tuesday 5/3

Advanced Micro Devices, Airbnb, American International Group, Biogen, BP, Cummins, DuPont, Estée Lauder, Marathon Petroleum, Martin Marietta Materials, Molson Coors Beverage, Paramount Global, Pfizer, S&P Global, and Starbucks announce earnings.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Economists forecast 11.4 million job openings on the last business day for March, 134,000 more than in February.

Wednesday 5/4

ADP releases its National Employment Report for April. Economists forecast that the economy added 350,000 private-sector jobs, after a 455,000 rise in March. The total workforce has passed prepandemic levels.

AmerisourceBergen, APA, Booking Holdings, CF Industries, Corteva, CVS Health, eBay, Equinor, Etsy, Fortinet, Moderna, Novo Nordisk, Pioneer Natural Resources, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Trane Technologies, Uber Technologies, and Yum! Brands release quarterly results.

The Federal Open Market Committee announces its monetary-policy decision. The FOMC is widely expected to raise the federal-funds rate by half a percentage point to 0.75%-1%. The current Wall Street consensus calls for the federal-funds rate to be at 3%-3.25% by the end of this year, as a hawkish Fed tries to catch up in its fight against the highest inflation readings in four decades.

The ISM releases its Services Purchasing Managers’ Index for April. Expectations are for a 58.5 reading, slightly ahead of March’s 58.3 figure, and well above the 50 level, which indicates growth in the services sector.

Thursday 5/5

Air Products & Chemicals, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Aptiv, Becton Dickinson, Cardinal Health, ConocoPhillips, Illumina, Intercontinental Exchange, Kellogg, McKesson, Metlife, Royal Caribbean Group, Sempra Energy, Shell, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Zoetis hold conference calls to discuss earnings.

Friday 5/6

Cigna, Enbridge, NRG Energy, and Under Armour report quarterly results.

The BLS releases the jobs report for April. Economists forecast a gain of 375,000 jobs in nonfarm payrolls, compared with an increase of 431,000 in March. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 3.6%, near historical lows. The labor market remains tight, as job openings continues to outpace job seekers.