Wall Street week ahead: Spotlight on the Federal Reserve’s final interest rate decision of 2024

The spotlight on Wall Street this coming week will be on the US Federal Reserve’s final monetary policy decision of the year. The central bank is widely expected to cut interest rates for the third time since September.

In addition to the Fed’s decision, market participants will have a lot of economic data available, including retail sales, third-quarter GDP growth, personal income, and the PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) index.

Among the earnings reports, several major companies will announce their quarterly results, including Micron Technology, FedEx, Accenture and Nike.

Economic calendar

Separate reports on the Empire State Manufacturing Survey for December, the S&P US Services Flash PMI, and the S&P Manufacturing Flash PMI for December will be released on December 16 (Monday).

Separate reports on US retail sales for November, industrial production for November and the homebuilder confidence index for December will be released on December 17 (Tuesday).

The FOMC interest rate decision will be announced on December 18 (Wednesday) and Fed Chairman Powell’s press conference is also scheduled.

Data on third-quarter GDP (second revision) and existing home sales for November will be revealed on December 19 (Thursday).

Separate reports on personal income (nominal) and personal expenditure (nominal) for November, the PCE index for November and consumer confidence (final) for December will be released on December 20 (Friday).

Income

The following companies will report third-quarter earnings in the coming week: Heico, Amentum Holdings, Worthington Enterprises, Micron Technology, Lennar, General Mills, Jabil, Toro, Accenture, Nike, Cintas, FedEx, Paychex and Winnebago.

Markets last week

The American stock markets closed moderately on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 86.06 points, or 0.20%, to 43,828.06, the S&P 500 lost 0.16 points to 6,051.09 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 23.88 points, or 0.12%, to 19,926.72.

The yield on the 10-year government bond rose from 4.34% to 4.40%.

Oil prices rose about 2% on Friday on expectations that additional sanctions on Russia and Iran could tighten supplies.

Brent futures rose $1.08, or 1.5%, to settle at $74.49 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.27, or 1.8%, to settle at $71.29.