ICMarket

The Week Ahead – Week Commencing 18 March 2024

It is a huge week for traders and investors this week that has the potential to move multiple markets across the globe as well as possibly provide pivotal updates that could shape trends for the rest of the year. Seems like a big call, but with a plethora of key interest rate decisions from some of the world’s biggest central banks and a raft of tier 1 data releases, there will be little downtime for traders this week.

Here’s our usual day-by-day breakdown of the major economy’s scheduled risk events:

Very much the calm day before the storm of macroeconomic updates this week with just
the Chinese Industrial Production and Retail Sales figures due out on the calendar.

The event calendar kicks off with a bang on Tuesday with rate calls from 2 major central banks in the Asian session. The Reserve Bank of Australia is scheduled to deliver its call and associated statements etc at 14:30 Sydney time. However, as usual, there is no set time for the Bank of Japan’s announcement – although lunchtime in Tokyo is normally a favorite. There is little on the calendar in the European time zone, but Canadian markets will be in focus on the New York open when the latest CPI numbers are released.

Another busy day for traders, starting in the Asian session with the Prime Loan Rates due out of China. The London session sees the release of key UK CPI data as well as a speech from ECB President Christine Lagarde, but the highlight of the day (and for some, the week), will be the FOMC rate decision, statement, and press conference towards the end of the New York session.

 The hits keep on coming on Thursday and the action kicks off early in the APAC session with GDP numbers out of New Zealand before the focus jumps across the Tasman to Australia where the latest key employment numbers are due out. There are Flash PMI numbers out in all sessions today, with Australia, the EU, the UK, France, Germany, and the US all set for releases. However, the European data set is likely to be overshadowed by rate calls from both the Swiss National Bank and the Bank of England during the trading session. The New York session also sees the release of the weekly unemployment claims numbers and the Philly Fed’s Manufacturing Index data.

APAC markets get a bit of relief on Friday with nothing major on the calendar in the day’s first trading session. But, the focus will be back on the UK once Europe opens as the latest Retail Sales numbers are released. Canadian Retail Sales data is also due out early in the North American session, but we are likely to see more action later in the day as we hear from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other FOMC members Michael Barr and Raphael Bostic.