Your Trading Week Ahead — August 22nd

Welcome to Your Trading Week Ahead for August 22nd. Here’s what you need to know before you go…

Quick recap

Equity markets pulled back from all-time highs last week following July’s FOMC meeting minutes and updated employment data. The S&P 500 finished the week lower by 0.60% at 4,441. The Dow fared slightly worse, closing down 1.11% at 35,120. The Nasdaq closed lower for the second week in a row — down 0.73% at 14,714.

What to watch this week

Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium

A major focus for markets in the week ahead will be the Federal Reserve’s virtual appearance at their annual Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium. The event, which takes place from Thursday to Saturday, will serve as a forum for discussions around the central bank’s eventual shift in monetary policy.

Investors have been trying to gauge rhetoric coming from Fed officials for months. And they’ll be watching this meeting like a hawk for any clues to when exactly the Fed will begin tapering their asset purchases. Further developments on the subject will undoubtedly act as a driver for markets moving forward.

Earnings roundup

Earnings season is beginning to wind down. But there are several popular stocks still left to report.

Here’s some of the most noteworthy reports to keep an eye on this week:

• Monday – Palo Alto Networks ($PANW) after market close
• Tuesday – Advance Auto Parts ($AAP) before market open; Intuit ($INTU) after market close
• Wednesday – Best Buy ($BBY) before market open; Salesforce ($CRM), Autodesk ($ADSK), Ulta Beauty ($ULTA) after market close
• Thursday – The JM Smucker Co. ($SJM), Dollar Tree ($DLTR) before market open; Peloton ($PTON), Dell ($DELL), The Gap ($GPS), Marvell ($MRVL), HP ($HPQ) after market close

Economic calendar

There are several events on the calendar this week with the potential to move markets. Here’s some of the most important things to watch:

• Markit manufacturing and services PMI (Aug) – Monday at 9:45am ET
• Existing home sales (July) – Monday at 10am ET
• New home sales (July) – Tuesday at 10am ET
• Durable and nondefensive capital goods orders (July) – Wednesday at 8:30am ET
• Initial and continuing jobless claims – Thursday at 8:30am ET
• GDP revision (Q2) – Thursday at 8:30am ET
• Personal income, consumer spending, and Core PCE (July) – Friday at 8:30am ET
• University of Michigan consumer sentiment index (August) – Friday at 10am ET

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