Events to look out for today include the Federal Open Market Committee’s minutes from its last interest rate meeting, retail earnings, as well as US house price and consumer confidence readings:
Fed minutes: Investors will have the opportunity to gain insights into the US central bank’s thinking as earlier this month it cut interest rates for the second consecutive meeting. The Federal Open Market Committee opted for a standard quarter-point rate cut on November 6, having kicked off its monetary policy easing cycle in September with a larger-than-usual half-point cut.
Retail earnings: Hints on the outlook for consumer spending during the upcoming holiday season will be of great interest to investors and economy watchers when several retail groups report quarterly results this morning. Electronics retailer Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, apparel purveyors Burlington Stores and Abercrombie & Fitch, as well food manufacturer JM Smucker are among those to provide their latest updates.
Economic data: House prices in the biggest 20 US cities are expected to have increased 5.1 per cent in September from a year earlier, according to the S&P Case-Shiller home price index, moderating from a 5.2 per cent increase the previous month. Separately, the Conference Board’s reading on consumer confidence in November is release mid-morning.
