The February Consumer Price Index report will be closely watched next week. Economists expect overall CPI to rise 0.4% in February from the previous quarter, or 0.3% if food and energy categories are excluded. Inflation is expected to increase by 3.1% annually this month. Other upcoming economic reports include a producer price index report, a retail sales report and the latest data on consumer confidence from the University of Michigan.
Add it all up and investors may walk away with new interest rate expectations. Currently, Goldman Sachs believes that the first interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of England and Bank of Canada will be carried out in June. However, forecasts are less clear as central bankers are reluctant to provide guidance too early. Lawrence Fuller, head of Seeking Alpha Investment Group, assessed the outlook for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), expecting to see weak employment data and a continuation of deflationary trends, which would allow the Fed to move faster Cut interest rates and the economy is expected to have a soft landing.
The earnings calendar for the week ahead features Oracle (ORCL) (Analyst) and consumer-facing companies such as Dollar Tree (DLTR), Kohl’s (KSS) and DICK’S Sporting Goods (DKS).
Meanwhile, this week’s conference calendar is very active, including the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet and Telecommunications Conference and Barclays’ 26th Annual Global Healthcare Conference. Investors will also be watching Starbucks’ (SBUX) annual shareholder meeting. In healthcare, an FDA action date is looming for Madrigal Pharmaceuticals’ (MDGL) Resmetirom, which has the potential to become the first and only drug approved for NASH liver disease. Finally, stocks may see some additional volatility this weekend, as March 15th is a triple witching day, with stock options, stock index futures, and stock index option contracts expiring simultaneously.
Earnings Spotlight: Monday, March 11 – Oracle (ORCL), Casey’s General Stores (CASY) and Asana (ASAN).
Earnings Spotlight: Tuesday, March 12 – On Holding (ONON), Kohl’s (KSS) and International Game Technology (IGT).
Earnings Spotlight: Wednesday, March 13 – Dollar Tree (DLTR), Petco Health and Wellness (WOOF), Williams-Sonoma (WSM) and Lennar (LEN).
Earnings Spotlight: Thursday, March 14 – DICK’S Sporting Goods (DKS), Dollar General (DG), Adobe (ADBE), Blink Charging (BLNK) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA).
Earnings Spotlight: Friday, March 15 – Jabil (JBL). View the full earnings calendar.
Volatility Watch: Options trading on Enviva (EVA) and BigBear.ai Holdings (BBAI) increased. The list of highly shorted stocks heading into the new week includes Bowlero (BOWL) and Celsius Holdings (CELH). The most overbought stocks on the 14-day RSI include Envoy Medical (COCH), EMCOR (EME) and Vistra (VST). The most oversold stocks on the 14-day relative strength index include Pine Cliff Energy (OTCQX:PIFYF), Power & Digital Infrastructure Acquisition II (XPDB) and Inari Medical (NARI).
IPO Watch: No new IPOs are expected in the coming week. Post-IPO quiet periods for American Healthcare REIT (NYSE:AHR), Kyverna Therapeutics (KYTX), Telomir Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TELO), Metagenomi (NASDAQ:MGX) and BBB Foods (TBBB) expired to allow analysts to vacate Make time to publish articles to increase ratings. The IPO lock-up period for a batch of Solowin (SWIN) shares will expire.
Investor Activities: AT&T (T), eBay (EBAY), fuboTV (FUBO), Fox (FOXA) and Warner Music (WMG) are among the big names set to attend the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet & Telecom Conference. The long list of companies attending the JPMorgan Industrial Conference includes Delta Air Lines (DAL), Honeywell (HON) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP). Meanwhile, the healthcare industry will be under the spotlight at Barclays’ 26th Annual Global Healthcare Conference and the Leerink Partners Global Biopharmaceutical Conference this week. Other noteworthy investor events include Cisco Systems Inc.’s (CSCO) technology presentation and Starbucks Corp.’s (SBUX) annual shareholder meeting.
