What To Expect in the Markets This Week

Coming up: January CPI inflation, retail sales, Jerome Powell congressional testimony, earnings from Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Cisco, and Shopify

Key Takeaways

• Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for January is among the pricing data scheduled for release this week.
• Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to give a regularly scheduled update to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. 
• McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Shopify are among the consumer-focused companies scheduled to report this week, while drugmakers Moderna and Vertex Pharmaceuticals’ financials are also expected.
• Technology firms Cisco and Applied Materials are on the corporate earnings calendar, while investors also expect updates from Robinhood and Coinbase.

Inflation data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments will be watched this week as investors also prepare for another slate of corporate earnings reports.

Powell is scheduled to testify before Congress this week, where the Federal Reserve chair will likely focus on interest rates and the current economic environment. On Wednesday, market watchers will get their first look at January inflation with the scheduled release of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), while wholesale, import, and export pricing data is also expected this week. U.S. retail sales data is scheduled for release on Friday.

Scheduled earnings releases from McDonald’s (MCD), Coca-Cola (KO), and Shopify (SHOP) will provide insight into the health of American consumer sentiment, while investors also expect updates from tech firms Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Applied Materials (AMAT). Drugmakers Moderna (MRNA) and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) are scheduled to report during the week, while investment app Robinhood (HOOD) and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) are also on the corporate earnings calendar.

Monday, Feb. 10

• McDonald’s, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Onsemi (ON) are scheduled to report earnings

Tuesday, Feb. 11

• NFIB small business optimism (January)
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell scheduled to testify to the Senate Banking Committee
• New York Fed President John Williams and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack are scheduled to deliver remarks
• Coca-Cola, Shopify, Gilead Sciences (GILD), Marriott International (MAR), Welltower (WELL), and DoorDash (DASH) are scheduled to report earnings

Wednesday, Feb. 12

• Consumer Price Index (January)
• Monthly U.S. federal budget (January)
• Fed Chair Powell scheduled to testify to the House Financial Services Committee
• Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic scheduled to deliver remarks
• Cisco, Applovin (APP), Equinix (EQIX), CME Group (CME), CVS Health (CVS), and Robinhood are scheduled to report earnings

Thursday, Feb. 13

• Initial jobless claims (Week ending Feb. 8)
• Producer Price Index (January)
• Applied Materials, Unilever (UL), Sony (SONY,) Brookfield (BN), Moody’s (MCO), Airbnb (ABNB), Honda Motor (HMC), Motorola (MSI), and Coinbase are scheduled to report earnings

Friday, Feb. 14

• U.S. retail sales (January)
• Import/export price indexes (January)
• Industrial production and capacity utilization (January)
• Business inventories (December)
• Enbridge (ENB) and Moderna are scheduled to report earnings

Inflation Data, Powell Testimony in Market Watchers’ Spotlight

Fresh inflation data and comments from top Fed officials lead this week’s schedule of economic updates.

Wednesday’s scheduled release of CPI for January comes as price pressures have pointed higher in recent months, heightening inflation worries among Fed officials. Market watchers are also expected to get updated inflation readings for wholesale trade, along with import and export pricing data.

Fed Chair Powell is expected to deliver his regularly scheduled testimony to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. His remarks come after the Fed held interest rates steady in January after cutting rates in the prior three meetings as the central bank pointed to a strong job market and concerns over rising inflation. New York Fed President John Williams and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic are also scheduled to speak during the week.

Friday’s scheduled release of January U.S. retail sales data will show whether consumers will exceed spending expectations after December’s increase came in lower than expected. 

Corporate Earnings Schedule Includes McDonald’s, Moderna, Cisco, Coinbase

Tech, finance, pharmaceutical, and consumer companies highlight this week’s corporate earnings calendar. 

McDonald’s report scheduled for Monday will show whether the fast-food chain is still struggling with traffic as inflation has pushed some consumers away, prompting the Happy Meal seller to announce new value offerings for 2025.

Coca-Cola’s expected report on Tuesday comes as the drinks maker’s unit case volumes decreased in the prior quarter as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) James Quincey warned about “near-term challenges” for the company.

Shopify’s expected report follows better-than-expected third-quarter results on strong sales for the e-commerce services provider.  DoorDash’s scheduled report comes after the delivery service recently announced a partnership with Home Depot. 

Cisco’s report scheduled for Wednesday comes as the tech equipment maker raised its full-year forecast despite reporting declining revenue. The following day, semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials is expected to release quarterly earnings amid slowing sales in China. 

Applovin’s scheduled report comes after the advertising software maker posted a 40% jump in quarterly revenue on increased demand for its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools. 

Investment trading app Robinhood’s expected earnings come after Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating and raised the stock’s price target in November. Investors are also watching the expected Thursday report from crypto exchange Coinbase.