Inflation data to set interest rate tone in US – New York Report
The big event in the US this week will be the inflation numbers, expected tomorrow afternoon UK time.
Consumer prices are expected to have gone up by 0.2 per cent over the course of October, making the annual increase just 0.1 per cent.
The core consumer price index, excluding lower energy prices, is forecast to be up 1.9 per cent over the same period last year.
The rate of inflation is expected to be a decision-making-factor for the Federal Reserve when it decides on whether to raise historically low interest rates next month.
Earnings are not looking good, with the S&P 500 on track to close its first reporting season of negative growth since the Great Recession and estimates call for sub-zero growth in the current quarter as well.
Meanwhile, following a less than impressive week for US retailers, including Macy’s and Nordstroms, general retail titan Walmart is releasing its quarterly numbers tomorrow, as is DIY retailer Home Depot.
The same price war affecting UK retailers is taking its toll in the US, and investors will be keen to see what the retailers have planned to win customers in the big spending holiday season.
Mobile payments company Square, founded and run by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and valued at $6bn (£4bn) will launch its initial public offering on Thursday. Tech industry watchers see the IPO as the next big test of the swelling tech market bubble.
Match Group, owner of online dating sites Match, Tinder, and OKCupid, is being spun off from parent company IAC, and will start trading on Thursday.