What will drive the markets this week?
Last week saw equities globally close mostly lower on Friday as Wall Street’s investors showed concerns about the bank sector. Tech-focused lender Silicon Valley Bank shut down following losses in its bond portfolio, prompting the biggest bank failure since the global financial crisis and sending shockwaves through the banking sector.
European shares erased early gains and experienced their steepest weekly drop in five months, with the pan-European STOXX 600 ending down 1.3%, largely due to the pressure faced by the bank, insurance, and financial services stocks.
This week, Monetary policy will take center stage with the two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) starting on Tuesday and a decision on interest rates expected on Wednesday. Officials at the Bank of England (BoE) will hold their policy meeting Thursday. We can expect data on new and existing home sales for February, along with a PMI survey reading from S&P Global due on Friday. We’ll also receive the latest inflation readings from the U.K. and Japan.
Monday, March 20
- PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD), Aegon (AEG), and Foot Locker Inc. (FL) report earnings
Tuesday, March 21
- Nike (NKE), Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME), Gamestop Corp. (GME), HealthEquity Inc. (HQY), and Manchester United Ltd. (MANU) report earnings
- Existing Home Sales (Feb)
- Day 1 of March FOMC Meeting
- Euro Area Economic Sentiment Index
Wednesday, March 22
- Woodside Energy Group Ltd. (WDS), Chewy Inc. (CHWY), and H.B. Fuller Company (FUL) report earnings
- Day 2 of March FOMC Meeting; Interest Rate Decision and Press Conference
- U.K. Inflation Rate (Feb)
Thursday, March 23
- Accenture (ACN), General Mills (GIS), Darden Restaurants (DRI), and FactSet Research Systems (FDS) report earnings
- Chicago Fed National Activity Index (Feb)
- Building Permits - Final Reading (Feb)
- New Home Sales (Feb)
- Kansas Fed Composite Index (Mar)
- Bank of England (BoE) Interest Rate Decision
- Japan Inflation Rate (Feb)
Friday, March 24
- Durable Goods Orders (Feb)
- S&P Global Composite PMI - Flash Estimate (Mar)