What To Expect in the Markets This Week

Investors will be monitoring cryptocurrency as the bitcoin halving is expected to occur on Saturday, or perhaps earlier, and the reduced availability of the coin is expected to have an impact on its price. 

Earnings reports continue this week, with several financial institutions on deck to issue quarterly financial results, including Goldman Sachs (GS), American Express (AXP), Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), and Charles Schwab (SCHW). Netflix (NFLX), United Airlines (UAL), and Procter & Gamble (PG) are also set to report earnings. 

Market watchers can also expect comments from several Federal Reserve officials, while regional economic data and housing market reports are also scheduled.

Monday, April 15

• New York Fed’s Empire State manufacturing survey (April)
• U.S. retail sales (March)
• Business inventories (February)
• Homebuilder confidence (April)
• Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan and San Francisco Fed President Mary C. Daly deliver remarks
• Goldman Sachs, Charles Schwab, and M&T Bank (MTB) report earnings

Tuesday, April 16

• Housing starts (March)
• Building permits (March)
• Industrial production (March)
• Capacity utilization (March)
• UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, BNY Mellon (BK), and PNC Bank (PNC) report earnings

Wednesday, April 17

• Mortgage applications (Week ending April 12)
• Federal Reserve Beige Book
• United Airlines, Abbott Laboratories (ABT), U.S. Bancorp (USB), Travelers Cos. (TRV), Citizens Financial (CFG), First Horizon (FHN), and Discover Financial Services (DFS) report earnings

Thursday, April 18

• Initial jobless claims (Week ending April 13)
• Philadelphia Fed manufacturing survey (April)
• Existing home sales (March)
• U.S. leading economic indicators (March)
• New York Fed President John C. Williams and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic deliver remarks
• Netflix, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), and Infosys (INFY) report earnings

Friday, April 19

• Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee delivers remarks
• Procter & Gamble, American Express, Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB), and Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) report earnings

Saturday, April 20

• Possible bitcoin halving event

Bitcoin Halving Eyed for Saturday

Cryptocurrency investors will be anticipating the bitcoin (BTCUSD) halving, a periodic event that potentially influences price movements in the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. It’s uncertain exactly when the bitcoin halving will occur, but experts believe it will come on Saturday, or perhaps even sooner.  

In the past, bitcoin has reached new highs after its halving events, but it’s not known if the heightened scarcity of the cryptocurrency will have the same effect this time. Bitcoin halvings are part of its underlying technology, in which the rewards for bitcoin “miners” are periodically slashed in half, reducing the rate that new bitcoin is issued. 

Cryptocurrencies have gained in anticipation of the halving, with bitcoin prices hovering near the all-time-high it set in March. However, while past halvings have sent the cryptocurrency higher, experts said that the market conditions around this event are different. For example, new spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have changed market dynamics this year, and there has been a decline in the amount of bitcoin available to trade. 

Bank Earnings Continue, With Notable Health Care, Tech Reports Also on Tap

After big banks kicked off the latest earnings season last Friday, more financial institutions are set to follow, with healthcare and tech firms also highlighting this week’s reporting calendar.

Goldman Sachs leads the way on Monday, coming after it reported strong growth in its asset and wealth management business for the fourth quarter. Tuesday features the report from Morgan Stanley, coming days after a report that regulators were probing the bank’s wealth management arm. On Wednesday, Discover Financial Services delivers its financial results after the February announcement that it was being acquired by Capital One (COF). Closing the week is American Express (AXP), which reports its earnings after it last quarter gave strong full-year guidance and boosted its dividend. 

Health insurer UnitedHealth Group reports on Tuesday amid reports that it’s under antitrust investigation, with Johnson & Johnson also delivering financial results that day. Abbott Laboratories reports on Wednesday and Intuitive Surgical reports on Thursday.

Other noteworthy earnings this week include Netflix’s report on Thursday, with the streamer looking to keep up its momentum in subscriber growth.  Consumer products giant Procter & Gamble’s report on Friday will show whether higher prices continue to fuel revenue growth. 

Federal Reserve Speeches and Economic Indicators

Investors will be listening to remarks from several Federal Reserve speakers this week, as the officials continue to deliver their reaction to changing economic data.

San Francisco Fed President Mary C. Daly, New York Fed President John C. Williams, and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic are all scheduled to deliver remarks during the week. 

While the Fed has forecast three interest rate cuts for 2024, a surging jobs report and hotter-than-expected inflation has prompted some officials to raise questions about whether the Fed would be able to follow up with that projection. Several Fed officials last week said that recent inflation data has caused them to reconsider rate-cut schedules, arguing that they need to see more data showing price increases slowing before moving to trim rates. 

Investors will also get an update on regional business conditions this week. The Federal Reserve banks in New York and Philadelphia will release surveys of business from their regions, while the Beige Book will include summaries of economic conditions in all 12 Fed regions.