First-quarter earnings season kicks off this week, beginning as always with results from several of the largest U.S. banks. Goldman Sachs Group, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo report on Wednesday, followed by Bank of America and Citigroup on Thursday and Morgan Stanley on Friday.
Other notable companies reporting this week include industrial supplier Fastenal on Tuesday. Delta Air Lines, PepsiCo, and UnitedHealth Group publish results on Thursday. And Kansas City Southern reports on Friday. A total of 22 S&P 500 companies report this week, followed by 64 next week.
It’s also a busy week for economic data. On Tuesday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the consumer price index for March and the National Federation of Independent Business releases its Small Business Optimism Index for March. Then on Thursday, the Census Bureau reports retail sales data for March. And on Friday, the University of Michigan releases its Consumer Sentiment Index for April.
Housing-market data out this week include the National Association of Home Builders’ NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for April on Thursday and the Census Bureau’s new residential construction data for March on Friday.
Monday 4/12
Nvidia hosts its 2021 investor day in conjunction with its GPU Technology conference. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will give the keynote address.
Tuesday 4/13
Fastenal reports quarterly results.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the consumer price index for March. Economists forecast a 0.4% monthly increase, matching the February data. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to rise 0.2%, after edging up 0.1% in February.
The National Federation of Independent Business releases its Small Business Optimism Index for March. Consensus estimate is for a 98 reading, higher than February’s 95.8.
Wednesday 4/14
Earnings season begins in earnest with some of the largest money-center and investment banks reporting. JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs Group release first-quarter results before the market open.
First Republic Bank releases earnings.
The BLS reports export and import price data for March. Expectations are for a 1% month-over-month rise in export prices, while import prices are seen increasing 0.8%. This compares with gains of 1.6% and 1.3%, respectively, in February.
The Federal Reserve releases the beige book for the second of eight times this year. The beige book gathers anecdotal information on current economic conditions from the 12 Fed districts.
Thursday 4/15
Bank of America, BlackRock, Charles Schwab, Citigroup, Delta Air Lines, PepsiCo, PPG Industries, Truist Financial, U.S. Bancorp, and UnitedHealth Group report quarterly results.
The National Association of Home Builders releases its NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index for April. Economists forecast an 84.5 reading, greater than the March data. Any reading above 50 indicates that home builders are bullish on the housing market for the next six months.
The Census Bureau reports retail sales data for March. The consensus call is for consumer spending to rise 1.3% month over month, after declining 3% in February.
Friday 4/16
Bank of New York Mellon, Citizens Financial Group, Kansas City Southern, Morgan Stanley, PNC Financial Services Group, and State Street hold conference calls to discuss earnings.
The University of Michigan releases its Consumer Sentiment Index for April. Expectations are for an 88 reading. March’s 84.9 figure was the highest since a year earlier.
The Census Bureau reports new residential construction data for March. Economists forecast a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.61 million housing starts, a 13% month-over-month increase.
Write to Nicholas Jasinski at [email protected]
