Another busy earnings week lies ahead, with biggies such as Disney (DIS), BP (BP) and Abbvie (ABBV) reporting.
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In addition to earnings-related stock market movements, keep your eyes on the following reports this week. All three reflect strongly on how the economy is faring. Keep track of all upcoming economic events with TipRanks’ Economic Calendar.
- United States Consumer Credit – Tuesday, February 7 – This measures the change in the amount of outstanding credit held by ordinary consumers. Consumer spending had slowed in December, and furthermore, several forecasts predict outsized amounts of consumer debt in 2023. That can bode well for major credit cards, but suggests the economy will slacken as people have less money to spend.
- U.S. Initial Jobless Claims – Thursday, February 9 – Economists were surprised to see that employers added more than half a billion jobs to payrolls in January. At the same time, the ongoing wave of layoffs by tech companies could translate into a greater number of initial jobless claims. While higher unemployment is a sign of a weakening economy, it could also signal the Fed that it’s time to stop raising interest rates.
- University of Michigan Preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index – Friday, February 10 – This index measures consumers’ sense of their own economic situation, and the economic situation of the U.S. in both the short- and long-term. In January, the index rose month-over-month for the second time in a row, although it was still lower than in January 2022. A sense of optimism about the economy could mean that consumers will continue to pour money into businesses, which is good for the stock market. A drop in this index could mean the opposite.
