TOP 5 economic news for the week - TeleTrade exclusives

After a strong employment report on Friday showed the likelihood that the Fed will postpone interest rate cuts, investors focused their attention on upcoming earnings data and other economic indicators. China will publish inflation data, which will be of increased interest, and the Reserve Bank of Australia will hold a regular meeting. All the most interesting things are in our top.

Earnings season continues

The earnings season is in full swing. Its results this week will help determine whether the rally that has lifted stocks to record highs will continue.

The S&P 500 index hit a new high on Friday after the release of employment data, helped by a rapid rise in shares of parent meta platforms Facebook and Amazon, which rose 20% and 8% respectively after their corporate results.

All three major U.S. stock indexes posted their fourth consecutive weekly gain.

This week, a large group of S&P 500 companies, including Eli Lilly, Walt Disney, ConocoPhillips and PepsiCo, will provide their reports.

US data

The main data worth paying attention to is the ISM Services Business Activity index for January, published on Monday. Economists expect activity in the sector to pick up at the beginning of the year. The Labor Department will release a weekly report on initial applications for unemployment benefits on Thursday.

Investors will also be able to hear from several Fed officials during this week, including Atlanta Fed President Rafael Bostic, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, Governor Adriana Coogler, Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin and Governor Michelle Bowman.

Unstable state of oil prices

Oil prices fell by about 2% on Friday, and both benchmarks lost about 7% over the week.

But concerns about rising tensions in the Middle East seem to remain in the foreground after the United States began launching retaliatory strikes against militants in Iraq and Syria.

The United States and Britain also launched a new round of strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen late on Saturday after repeated attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes, which are key to global energy flows.

China inflation data

China will release inflation data on Thursday, which is expected to show that deflationary pressures have intensified. Economists expect the consumer price index for January to be minus 0.5% against minus 0.3% a month earlier.

The world's second-largest economy is suffering from continued weak demand, a slowdown in the real estate sector and volatile investor sentiment.

Chinese markets have already had a difficult start to the year. The blue chip index ended January down 6%, marking a record six-month losing streak.

As the lunar New Year approaches, which opens the year of the dragon, traditionally the luckiest of the 12 animals of this zodiac, some hope that the annual rush in the field of travel can be a blow to the economy.

RBA meeting

The RBA is expected to keep interest rates unchanged when it holds its first policy meeting of the year on Tuesday after slower-than-expected inflation in the fourth quarter prompted markets to raise expectations of rate cuts.

Consumer price inflation in Australia slowed to a two-year low in the fourth quarter. A sharp slowdown in core inflation spurred rates to lower in May or June.

The RBA has already raised interest rates by 425 basis points to a 12-year high of 4.35% since May 2022 to curb skyrocketing prices. It also left the door open for further tightening if necessary to achieve the 2-3% annual inflation target.

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