The latest inflation data and another batch of first-quarter earnings reports will be this week's highlights. Retail sales, housing data, and a few sentiment surveys will round out the week's events.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' consumer price index for April will come out on Wednesday morning. Economists' consensus estimate calls for a 3.4% year-over-year increase, which would be down by a tenth of a percentage point from March. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy components, is expected to rise 3.6% -- which would be down month-over-month by two-tenths of a percentage point, according to Dow Jones. The BLS will also release the producer price index for April on Tuesday.
Other economic data to watch this week will include the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's Survey of Consumer Expectations for April, the National Federation of Independent Business' Small Business Optimism Index for April, the Census Bureau's retail sales data for April, and the Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for April.
Highlights on the earnings calendar will include results from Alibaba Group Holding and Home Depot on Tuesday, Cisco Systems on Wednesday, and Applied Materials, Deere, and Walmart on Thursday.
Monday 5/13
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York releases its Survey of Consumer Expectations for April. Consumers' expectations for year-ahead inflation was 3% in March, the third consecutive month at that level. A similar survey from the University of Michigan has been ticking up in recent months and hit 3.5% last week.
Tuesday 5/14
Alibaba Group Holding, Home Depot, and Sony Group release earnings.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the producer price index for April. The consensus call is for a 2.2% increase year over year, one-tenth of a percentage point less than in March. The core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to rise 2.3%, one-tenth of a percentage point less than previously.
The National Federation of Independent Business releases its Small Business Optimism Index for April. Expectations are for a 88 reading, which would be slightly less than the March figure.
Wednesday 5/15
Cisco Systems announces third-quarter fiscal-2024 results.
The BLS releases the consumer price index for April. Consensus estimate is for a 3.4% year-over-year increase, one-tenth of a percentage point less than in March. The core CPI is expected to rise 3.6%, compared to 3.8% previously, according to Dow Jones. The battle against inflation has stalled this year, pushing up the yield on the 10-year Treasury note from 3.89% to 4.70% through the end of April. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's early May Federal Open Market Committee news conference, where he made it clear the bar for raising interest rates further was very high, led to yields coming back down to 4.50%.
The National Association of Home Builders releases its Housing Market Index for May. Expectations are for a 50 reading, one point less than in April.
The Census Bureau releases retail sales data for April. Economists forecast a 0.4% month-over-month increase in retail and food-services sales to $712 billion. That compares to a 0.7% gain in March.
Thursday 5/16
Applied Materials, Copart, Deere, Take-Two Interactive Software, and Walmart hold conference calls to discuss quarterly results.
The Census Bureau reports new residential construction statistics for April. The consensus call is for a 9.4% month-over-month increase in privately-owned housing starts, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.45 million.
Friday 5/17
The Conference Board releases its Leading Economic Index for April. The LEI is expected to fall 0.3% month over month, which would equal March's decline. The LEI has dropped 24 of the past 25 months.
