Global growth will be a major focus next week for the markets, with the September flash PMIs due to be reported. In the U.S., the core PCE report will be released at the end of the week. The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rose 2.6% year-over-year in both July and June. Fresh off the first interest rate cut in more than four years, FOMC members will be back on the speaking circuit, including Chairman Jerome Powell. Amid all the investor focus on the Fed’s rate cuts, Seeking Alpha Investing Group Leader Envision Research noted that the timing and degree of the cuts are still an art rather than a science at this stage “To make things more uncertain, monetary policy, including interest rate cuts, can have a lag time before the impacts are felt in the real economy.”
The earnings calendar in the week ahead includes reports from Micron (MU), AutoZone (AZO), and Costco (NASDAQ:COST), while the event calendar is headlined by Meta Platforms’ (META) annual Meta Connect event. Analysts think that there could still be some spillover from FedEx’s (FDX) worrying guidance update. Another trend for investors to consider is that the week after the September rush of options expirations on triple witching day is historically among the weakest of the year as portfolio managers adjust from their summer vacation slumber.
Earnings spotlight: Tuesday, September 24 – AutoZone (AZO), KB Home (KBH), Thor Industries (THO), and Stitch Fix (SFIX) See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Wednesday, September 25 – Micron Technology (MU) and Jefferies (JEF). See the full earnings calendar.
Earnings spotlight: Thursday, September 26 – Costco Wholesale (COST), Accenture (ACN), Jabil (JBL), and CarMax (KMX).See the full earnings calendar.
Volatility watch: Options trading volume is elevated on (LUNR) and (AZUL). The most overbought
