From Federal Reserve and European Central Bank interest rate decisions, to the jobs report, and the peak of quarterly earnings reports, I’m Jeff Kleintop with 90 seconds of what you need to know for the week ahead.
The Fed will announce its latest decision on Wednesday. Nearly everyone expects a one and done 25 basis point hike, taking the upper bound of the funds rate to 5.25% and marking the end of the tightening cycle. But with inflation still running at more than double the Fed’s 2% target, there’s abundant reason for the Fed to leave rates there for a while, despite stress among some banks. And a day later on Thursday, the European Central Bank is also expected to hike by 25 basis points. But the hike probably won’t mark the end of the cycle. Upside surprises in the Eurozone inflation and bank lending data, due two days before the ECB decision, could even bring another 50 basis point hike into play.
On Friday, both Canada and the US report the April employment numbers. In the U.S., the April jobs data is expected to show a slowdown in the pace of hiring, but not enough to get inflation back to target. Economists anticipate a payroll gain of about 180,000, which is less than the prior month’s 236,000. The unemployment rate seen holding at 3.5%. Now it’s the peak week for earnings reports for the 162 S&P 500 companies expected to report and 156 companies in Europe’s Stoxx 600 index. Overall earnings are coming in better than expected, even more so than in prior quarters.