Wall Street week ahead: Focus on factory output, retail sales data, Q2 results of Netflix & Goldman Sachs

Next Week, Wall Street will see two key economic reports on industrial production and retail sales, and second quarter results of several major companies such as streaming giant Netflix, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Abbott Laboratories, and Johnson & Johnson.

After Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s testimony to the US Congress last week, investors will also keenly watch his speech on Monday.

Powell had told US lawmakers that he was not yet ready to declare inflation had been beaten.

“There is a path to getting back to full price stability while keeping the unemployment rate low,” Powell had said. “We're on it. We're very focused on staying on that path.”

Economic events

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech is scheduled on July 15 (Monday).

On July 16 (Tuesday), separate data on US retail sales for June and business inventories for May will be released.

July 17 (Wednesday) will see the release of separate data on industrial production for June and housing starts for June.

Earnings

Following companies are due to report second quarter earnings in the week ahead — Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, UnitedHealth, Bank of America, Progressive, Morgan Stanley, PNC Financial, J.B. Hunt Transport, Johnson & Johnson, U.S. Bancorp, Kinder Morgan, United Airlines, Ally Financial, Netflix, Abbott Laboratories, Blackstone, Domino's Pizza, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, American Express, Halliburton, and Travelers.

US markets last week

US stocks rose on Friday after mixed earnings from big banks.

The S&P 500 was up 1.18 per cent at 5,650.38 points. The Nasdaq gained 1.36 per cent at 18,532.38 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.15 per cent to 40,209.36 points.

The 10-year Treasury yield settled down at 4.18 per cent from 4.21 per cent.

The US dollar declined to 157.93 Japanese yen from 158.73. The euro rose to $1.0905 from $1.0868.

Brent crude for September delivery fell 37 cents to $85.03 per barrel on Friday. Benchmark US crude oil for August delivery lost 41 cents to $82.21 per barrel.

Gold for August delivery dropped $1.20 to $2,420.70 per ounce. Silver for September delivery lost 51 cents to $31.16 per ounce.