Economic Reports This Week Could Speed up a Sluggish Stock Market

While the stock market moves slowly this week, economic data to be released on Thursday may help us to see some movement.

Federal Reserve officials released new home sales data. This helped paint a clearer picture of where inflation is headed, and it caused stock market trading to slow even further.

Thursday will see the release of GDP q/q, as well as unemployment claims data and GDP price index q/q. We will also see reports for pending home sales m/m, Chicago PMI, and UoM inflation expectations (which will have been revised and updated).

Any economic and inflation indicators are going to have some effect on the market. Inflation is higher than expected at this point in 2024, with the last report showing an increase that points to inflation heading in the wrong direction. These reports to be released on Thursday will tell us if those numbers are turning around at all.

Federal Reserve News

Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve chairman is scheduled to have a moderated discussion in San Francisco on Friday. That will be with radio host Kai Ryssdal and will take place at the Macroeconomics and Monetary Policy Conference. Expect remarks on inflation and Fed policy during that discussion.

Data for new home sales is expected to increase, moving from 661k to 675k, and the market improved last year as well. It benefitted from interest rates cuts from the Federal Reserve, and it could benefit again if the Federal Reserve decides to cut rates this year. So far, no rate cuts have been announced.

Across multiple major stock market indices, movement was sluggish, with little change from day to day for the past few days now. This is partly because there are few major earnings reports to be released and partly because new economic data is not pushing the needle in one direction or another.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR See More

Timothy St. John

Financial Writer - European & US Desks

Timothy St John is a seasoned financial analyst and writer, catering to the dynamic landscapes of the US and European markets. Boasting over a decade of extensive freelance writing experience, he has made significant contributions to reputable platforms such as Yahoo!Finance, business.com: Expert Business Advice, Tips, and Resources - Business.com, and numerous others. Timothy's expertise lies in in-depth research and comprehensive coverage of stock and cryptocurrency movements, coupled with a keen understanding of the economic factors influencing currency dynamics. Timothy majored in English at East Tennessee State University, and you can find him on LinkedIn.

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