Once again the week begins on a quiet note given the lack of fresh economic data and corporate earnings reports being shared today. We would suggest you enjoy the breather today because we are in for a snoot full of key economic data later this week that spans February Service PMI reports and a few looks at February job creation ahead of Friday’s February Employment Report. Several pieces of those data will overlap with Fed Chair Powell’s semiannual monetary policy testimony to a House committee on Wednesday and a Senate panel on Thursday.
Powell is expected to double down on his message that there’s no rush to cut interest rates. That message is backed by the preponderance of January inflation data and comments in the February Manufacturing PMI reports that questioned the rate of progress toward the Fed’s 2% target. Should tomorrow’s February Service PMI reports echo the inflation comments from their manufacturing counterparts, the market will be reading Powell’s comments to see if rate cut expectations are moving into 2H 2024. We will be listening closely to Powell’s in anticipation of the Fed updating its Economic Projections come the conclusion of its March policy meeting on March 20.
Earnings to watch this week include retail giants Costco (COST), Target (TGT), JD.com (JD), Ross Stores (ROST) and Kroger (KR). Broadcom (AVGO), DocuSign (DOCU), and CrowdStrike (CRWD) will announce their results as well.
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At an economic forum, Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said that artificial general intelligence could – by some definitions – arrive in as little as five years.
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Arkhouse Management Co. LP announced it submitted an increased all-cash proposal to acquire Macy's (M) for $24.00 per share along with its partner, Brigade Capital Management.
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Super Micro Computer's (SMCI) shares will be added to the S&P 500 index as part of the latest quarterly rebalancing, effective March 18. The company will replace home appliance maker Whirlpool (WHR).
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