Earnings season accelerates in the coming week with a fifth of S&P 500 companies reporting quarterly results. Investors will have a busy week ahead, full of events that have market-shifting potential. Tech beasts such as Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Tesla, and Microsoft are to report earnings.
Overall, S&P 500 is expected to experience more than 10% contraction in Q1. The fragility will be coming from the Energy, Consumer Discretionary, Financials, Industrials, and Materials sectors. Whereas, sectors with the most stable estimates like Health Care, Technology, and Consumer Staples have seen some of the best performances so far.
The main event on the economic-data side this week will be a first look at how the U.S. economy held up in the early stage of the coronavirus outbreak. The Bureau of Economic Analysis releases its initial estimate of first-quarter U.S. gross domestic product on Wednesday. Economists forecast an annualized 4% contraction, compared with a 2.1% growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The Federal Open Market Committee will announce a monetary-policy decision on Wednesday. With its benchmark interest rate near zero and multiple lending and bond-buying programs, there’s unlikely to be major new action this week.
Key data to keep an eye on include:
• Tuesday: Alphabet Q1 results
• Wednesday: Facebook, Microsoft, Tesla Q1 results, US GDP Q1 data
• Thursday: Amazon, Apple, Visa Q1 results, EU GDP Q1 data