Let’s take a look at what’s going to happen in the market over the next week.
1. Donald Trump’s speech at the Republican Convention
Former President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when the gunman fired a shot at Trump, striking him in the right ear, before being subdued by security forces.
The incident occurred while Trump was addressing supporters, and according to his own account, which he shared on his social media platform Truth, he heard gunfire and felt the bullets penetrate his skin.
Despite the attack, Trump spoke after the event, urging the crowd to “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Trump is due to accept his party’s formal nomination for president at the four-day Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week, in what could be his first public speech since the assassination attempt.
2. Fed Chairman Powell gives speech
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will be interviewed by David Rubenstein at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. The interview will be followed by a Q&A session.
In recent testimony before Congress, Powell emphasized the central bank’s ongoing efforts to combat inflation and its commitment to its dual mandate.
Chairman Powell also expressed cautious optimism about inflation trends, expressing some confidence that inflation will decline toward the 2 percent target.
However, he made clear that it was too early to say whether the trend toward the 2 percent target was sustainable.
3. Earnings season continues
Second-quarter earnings season kicked off last week and is set to get underway on Monday, when Goldman Sachs and BlackRock (NYSE:) are scheduled to report their financial results.
Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, ASML (AS:) and Netflix (NASDAQ:) are also scheduled to report earnings later this week.
Wall Street is expecting a very strong earnings season, much of which is already priced into current stock valuations.
4. ECB interest rate decision
The European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected to keep interest rates on hold after easing them in June.
“We expect the ECB to keep rates unchanged at its July meeting. The press conference should focus on future interest rate movements and developments in France,” Morgan Stanley said in a note.
5. Jobless claims, retail sales, and the Fed’s Beige Book
A lot of economic data is due to be released this week.
The Federal Reserve is expected to release its Beige Book report, which will, among other things, compile anecdotal information on current economic conditions from each of the 12 federal reserve districts.
The June FOMC inter-meeting report highlighted that economic activity continued to expand during the spring, but the expansion was uneven across sectors and regions.
The Beige Book details that businesses have observed weakness in discretionary spending, which it attributes to increased consumer price sensitivity.
Data on jobless claims and retail sales are also due to be released next week.
