Monday's Market Minute: Watching This Week's Economic Data

Looks like the dust is beginning to settle from a big down day Friday…let’s take a market minute to get ahead of what you should be dialed in on this week.

First, it’s Cyber Monday, but the optimism surrounding the event has been dampened by omicron COVID variant concerns, with Japan restricting all foreign travel, the U.S. banning flights from 8 South African countries, and Israel imposing a 14-day travel ban. The good news is Moderna MRNA says they could have a vaccine as early as next year, and the data out of South Africa shows that while the new variant is highly transmissible, it isn’t causing a spike in hospitalizations. The WHO eased investors’ concerns some over the weekend, and the U.S. indices are positive into the cash open, with crude also rallying back after falling over 10% on Friday.

This week, we have some closely watched economic data; the focus will primarily be on the jobs data due out later in the week. We have ADP Wednesday, the Challenger job-cut report, and weekly jobless claims Thursday, all leading up to Friday’s monthly jobs report where we’ll all be looking for further trends related to labor conditions.

Also, keep an eye on Pending Home Sales and FHFA Index due out tomorrow. We have the PMI and ISM numbers, Powell speaking and Beige Book: no lack of potential market movers this week. In terms of earnings this week, keep an eye on Zscaler ZS, Salesforce CRM, DocuSign DOCU, and Ulta ULTA. Lastly, keep an eye on the U.S. dollar and rates here in the U.S. With the move up throughout the month of November in the greenback, investors are starting to wonder if or when it will start to create headwinds for some of the trends we’ve been watching, as the U.S. indices to the upside.

Many argue we’d need to see rates above highs from earlier this year – the TNX above 1.75% -- prior to that occurring, but with inflation concerns and weakness in the other foreign currencies like the yen and the euro, it will be key to watch economic data. Better-than-expected results here in the U.S. are supportive of higher rates and a strong U.S. dollar, which at some point will create headwinds for growth.

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