According to BlockBeats, the upcoming week is set to be a busy one for economic data, with key indicators such as the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, the PCE data, the October non-farm payroll report, and third-quarter earnings reports from major companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon, all poised to shape the market's direction as November begins.
Last week, the performance of the three major U.S. stock indices was mixed. Tesla's stock surge helped the Nasdaq close up by approximately 0.9%, marking its seventh consecutive week of gains and bringing it close to an all-time high. In contrast, the S&P 500 fell by 0.3%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 2.6%, both ending a six-week streak of gains. In the cryptocurrency market, significant declines were observed last week. As of the latest report, Bitcoin was priced at $67,668, down 2.18% over the past seven days, while Ethereum was at $2,490, having fallen nearly 10% over the same period.
In the foreign exchange and commodities markets, the U.S. dollar index approached a three-month high on Friday, with a weekly gain of 0.8%, marking its fourth consecutive week of increases. Political uncertainty contributed to a 1.9% weekly decline in the Japanese yen. Amidst instability in the Middle East and the upcoming U.S. elections, coupled with global central banks' interest rate cut expectations, spot gold hit a historic high for three consecutive days last week before retracting some gains, but still ended the week up over 0.9%, marking its sixth consecutive week of gains. The ongoing tensions in the Middle East also drove weekly gains of over 4% for both U.S. and Brent crude oil.
There is a growing expectation in the market that the U.S. economy will experience a soft landing. This week's series of economic data releases will test investors' bets. On Wednesday, the U.S. third-quarter GDP estimate will be released, followed by the latest September PCE data on Thursday, and the October non-farm payroll report on Friday. As the policy meeting approaches, Federal Reserve officials have entered their routine silent period, with the market widely anticipating a 25 basis point rate cut. The dense schedule of data releases, combined with the approaching U.S. elections, is expected to heighten market volatility.
