Markets tumbled late in the week after a report from the Labor Department showed inflation rose faster than expected. The Consumer Price Index’s (CPI) 7.5% annual rise was the largest in 40 years and could push the Fed to hike interest rates more aggressively. The Dow fell 1%, the S & P 500 lost 1.8%, and the Nasdaq finished over 2% lower for the week.
Next week, the Senate Banking Committee meets to vote on Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s reappointment, along with the nominations of Fed Governor Lael Brainard for the position of Fed vice-chair, and several others. Powell is currently serving as the Fed’s interim chair, as his term expired last weekend.
Investors can also expect plenty of earnings before the season begins to wind down, with NVIDIA, Walmart, Applied Materials, Roku, DraftKings, and more expected to report. This week will also bring more inflation data and several key updates on the state of the U.S. housing market.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- NVIDIA, Walmart, Applied Materials, Roku, DraftKings, and more will report quarterly earnings this week.
- On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its Producer Price Index for the month of January.
- The NAHB’s Housing Market Index will be released on Wednesday, housing starts and building permits will follow on Thursday, and NAR will report on existing home sales on Friday.
Events Calendar:
On Monday, February 14:
- Arista Networks (ANET) and Advance Auto Parts (AAP) report earnings.
On Tuesday, February 15:
- Airbnb (ABNB), Ecolab (ECL), Marriott International (MAR), Roblox (RBLX), and ViacomCBS (VIAC) reported earnings.
- NY Empire State Manufacturing Index (February)
- The U.S. Producer Price Index (January)
- U.S. Senate Banking Committee Vote
On Wednesday, February 16:
- NVIDIA (NVDA), Cisco (CSCO), Applied Materials (AMAT), Shopify (SHOP), Analog Devices (ADI), Kraft Heinz (KHC), and Hilton Worldwide (HLT) report earnings.
- Retail Sales (January)
- U.S. industrial and manufacturing production (January)
- Capacity Utilization (January)
- The NAHB Housing Index (February)
- FOMC Minutes
On Thursday, February 17:
- Walmart (WMT), The Southern Company (SO), Palantir (PLTR), Hormel Foods (HRL), and Roku (ROKU) report earnings.
- U.S. Housing Starts and Building Permits (January)
- Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index (February)
On Friday, February 18:
- Deere & amp; Company (DE), DraftKings (DKNG), and Bloomin’ Brands (BLMN) report earnings.
- Existing Home Sales (January)
- CB Leading Index (January)
Producer Price Pressure
On Tuesday, we’ll find out whether wholesale inflation hit the brakes last month after slowing dramatically in December, or rose faster than expected, like retail inflation, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index (PPI).
The PPI measures price movements for sellers and economists are projecting that they rose 0.4% in January, after a 0.2% rise in December.
Housing Update
The NAHB will release its housing market index on Wednesday, which is expected to fall slightly on limited supplies.
The Census Bureau will follow with its report on housing starts and building permits for January on Thursday, and the National Association of Realtors will report on existing home sales on Friday.
Existing home sales are expected to hold steady after falling 4.6% in December, as the number of available homes for sale hit a 20-year low.