May 6, 2024 Week Ahead: Earnings, BoE Decision & US Data

A plethora of financial releases and economic events is set to take place on the week of May 6, 2024, possibly shedding light on the state of the financial markets and the global economy.

Following a volatile year marked by geopolitical tensions, wars, and global uncertainties surrounding the health of the economy, many traders, analysts, and consumers may find this week’s events helpful. 

Here’s what you can expect and what you need to know:

US Data and Fedspeak

After last week’s FOMC meeting, whereby the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at a 23-year high as inflation remained elevated, several Fed members are expected to speak this week, and these are as follows:

Monday, May 6:

• John Williams (New York Fed President)

• Thomas Barkin (Richmond Fed President)

Tuesday, May 7:

• Neel Kashkari (Minneapolis Fed President)

Wednesday, May 8:

• Lisa D. Cook (Fed Governor)

Friday, May 10:

• Michael S. Barr (Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve for Supervision)

In addition to the scheduled Fed speeches, traders and investors alike may want to keep tabs on the upcoming Initial Jobless Claims on Thursday, May 7, and Consumer Confidence data on Friday, May 10 to see what’s going on in the world’s biggest economy.

UK Data & Bank of England (BoE) Meeting

Central banks are powerful institutions whose decisions directly affect the economy and can shift the markets, and the Bank of England (BoE) is no exception.

The BoE is the United Kingdom’s central bank, responsible for the country’s monetary policy. As such, keeping track of its decisions can help understand the UK’s economic trajectory. 

This week, the BoE is scheduled to meet on Thursday, May 9, amidst expectations of rate cuts and a technical recession, a high unemployment rate on the one hand, and stronger wage growth on the other hand. 

Seeing what this central bank will decide may be interesting, especially in light of the mixed economic data in the world’s sixth-largest economy.

In addition to the BoE rate decision, UK Growth data is set to be released on Friday. While the actual results are yet to be confirmed, Bloomberg estimates that there was a +0.1% expansion in March and a QoQ expansion of +0.4% in Q1. 

Earnings Season Continues in Full Swing

More companies are expected to release their earnings results this week, with the main ones being as follows:

Monday, May 6:

• Palantir (PLTR) - After market close

Tuesday, May 7:

• The Walt Disney Company (DIS)- Before market open 

• BP p.l.c (BP-L)- Before market open

• Reddit (RDDT) - After market close

• Lyft (LYFT) - After market close

Wednesday, May 8:

• Uber (UBER) - Before market open

• Airbnb (ABNB) - After market close

• Shopify (SHOP) - Before market open

• ARM (ARM) - After market close 

Thursday, May 9:

• Warner Music Group Corp. (WMG) - Before market open

• Roblox Corp. (RBLX) - Before market open

How will these companies fare and what will they reveal about their respective industries? Only time will tell. (Source: Nasdaq)

What Else?

Besides the aforementioned releases and reports, it may be worth noting that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), Australia’s central bank, is set to release its rate decision on Tuesday. Moreover, Canada’s jobs data will be released on Friday.

Conclusion

The week of May 6, 2024, is eventful as key economic releases from the UK, US, Australia, and Canada are set to take place. What will this week reveal about the state of the global economy and how will the market react?