Despite the Bond market being closed on Monday in observance of Columbus Day, the Stock market will be open, and the week ahead has plenty of market-moving economic reports on tap.
On Wednesday, the Retail Sales Report will be released. This is the most-timely indicator of broad consumer spending patterns, so the markets will be watching to see if it comes in near expectations.
Thursday brings us inflation news when the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is reported. After Bernanke's comment last week about the Fed protecting against inflation, the markets will be watching this report closely.
On Friday, the Preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index will be reported. This survey is conducted by the University of Michigan and measures consumer attitudes regarding present and future economic conditions. The index rose at the end of September, so the markets will be watching to see if that boost in confidence continued into this month's preliminary report.
In addition to the important economic reports described above, industry experts and traders will be paying close attention to the release of the Meeting Minutes from the Fed's most recent Open Market Committee meeting. Once again, any talks about future inflation could move the markets - particularly after Bernanke's comments last week.
Remember: Weak economic news normally causes money to flow out of Stocks and into Bonds, helping Bonds and home loan rates improve, while strong economic news normally has the opposite result.
Market Information from Eric Campbell at Bank of America: eric.campbell@bankofamerica.com
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment