It was another big week for financial markets last week, which again ended with global markets higher despite a few twists and turns across the week, including conflicting inflation data prints out of the US.
The much-anticipated summit between US President Trump and Russian President Putin concluded after markets closed on Friday; however, there appears to have been little achieved so far, and details seem to be few and far between on what was discussed and agreed, or disagreed, during the two-and-a-half-hour meeting.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is now scheduled to meet with Trump in Washington on Monday, so expect more updates on the first trading day of the week.
There is more action in the week ahead, with several key data updates due out across the days and some major central bank events scheduled, including an RBNZ rate decision and updates from the Fed’s Annual Jackson Hole Symposium.
Here is our usual day-by-day breakdown of the major risk events this week:
It is a quiet start to the week on the economic calendar; however, expect markets to remain lively as investors react to the weekend’s geopolitical updates across all three trading sessions.
There will be an initial focus on antipodean markets in the Asian session on Tuesday, with Kiwi PPI data due to be released before the focus moves across the Tasman for Australian Consumer Sentiment numbers. There is little on the calendar in the European session; however, the focus will be on Canadian markets once New York opens, with key CPI numbers due out early in the day. We also hear from the Fed’s Michelle Bowman later in the day.
The macroeconomic calendar heats up on Wednesday with key updates across all three sessions and a big central bank theme. The initial focus in Asian markets will be on China, with the PBOC’s latest Loan Prime Rate updates due early in the session, before attention drops further south for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s latest rate call and updates. The European session sees UK markets in focus, with key CPI numbers due out early in the day. There is little in the way of data due out in the New York session, with just the usual weekly US Crude Oil Inventory numbers scheduled. However, there is a big Fed focus, with FOMC members Waller and Bostic both scheduled to speak around the key FOMC Meeting Minutes release.
It is Flash PMI data day on Thursday, with data due out across several jurisdictions, including Australia, France, Germany, the EU, the UK, and the US. The New York session also sees the release of the Weekly Unemployment Claims numbers and Philly Fed Manufacturing Index data before focus moves west for the start of the Fed’s Jackson Hole Symposium.
It is a quieter day on the calendar on Friday, with Retail Sales numbers out of the UK and Canada the only major data releases scheduled. However, traders are expecting to see plenty of volatility as we hear from various major central bankers at the Jackson Hole Symposium, including a scheduled speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
