Although analysts are expecting macro data to dominate this week’s news cycle, we will still get some key earnings from several sectors that can provide ample clues about the course of the U.S. economy.
It is the second week of the Q1 2018 earnings season and we will get the earnings report from one of the largest banks operating in the U.S., the Citigroup Inc. (C ). With a robust economy, healthy consumer spending and rising interest rates, a diversified financial service provider like C is operating in a perfect macro environment to maximize its bottom line. It seems C, indeed, had a great quarter as analysts are expecting it to increase their year-over-year EPS by nearly 19%.
However, besides analyzing the banking sector and C’s performance, the market will also keep an eye on the macro data like the consumer price index as rising energy prices in March can push up month-over-month inflation in the economy that may prompt the Fed to become more aggressive in hiking rates in 20108.
To sum up, it is the unusually strong labor market and consumer spending that kept the wheels of economic growth going for the last few months and unless we see a strong consumer sentiment reading on Friday, investor confidence will likely turn sour.
Check out last week’s Market Glance here in which investors focused on the robust job market.
