This week will be highly important to global stock markets. The economic calendar is packed with important events. A few influential central banks are holding their policy meetings. The market will get to know crucial employment data. Moreover, high-tech US giants are due to provide their corporate reports.

On Friday, Wall Street closed with gains in light of mixed news. On the one hand, investors cheered upbeat economic data. On the other hand, market sentiment was dented by gloomy forecasts by top companies. The benchmark stock indices closed with intraday growth on Friday with the Nasdaq taking the lead. The Dow Jones closed almost flat with a 0.08% uptick. The Nasdaq closed 0.95%. The S&P 500 grew 0.25% to close at 4,070.
The major indices opened on Monday on a pessimistic note. All of them signaled losses in the early New York trade. The indices lost most of Friday’s gains and went down. The S&P 500 is expected to trade in the intraday corridor between 3,980 and 4,070.
The catalyst for Friday’s gains was a series of corporate reports from companies with mega capitalization. The companies provided mixed data that impacted the sectors. From 11 sectors in the S&P 500, the consumer sector logged the biggest gains while the energy sector printed the heaviest losses of about 2%.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones closed last week in the green for three weeks in a row. The Nasdaq closed with gains for four weeks straight.  
On the corporate front, Intel shares tumbled by 6.4% after the chips manufacturer presented its grim revenue forecast. Chevron reported a record high profit for 2022 but its profit in the fourth quarter fell short of expectations. As a result, the stock dropped by 4.4%.

Rival payment companies American Express and Visa reported higher-than-expected earnings that eased concern over weaker demand among consumers. The shares of the payment giants surged by 10.5% and 3.0% respectively.

Obviously, Wall Street opened the new year with a strong rally. The stock indices battered in 2022 gained ground. The Nasdaq surged by 11% in January. The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones rose by 6% and 2.5% respectively.

The stock market owes its confidence in January to investors’ faith in a dovish reversal in the Fed’s rhetoric. The US Fed is expected to raise interest rates not so fast as policymakers signal.

The long-awaited US personal spending data came in line with expectations, thus showing soft demand and a slowdown in inflation. Hence, market participants are alert to the signs from the US central bank about its agenda and revised forecasts.

Jerome Powell stated clearly that the crusade against inflation is far from its completion. Still, investors are betting on the US Fed raising interest rates by 25 basis points, though there is a risk of being wrong.

Analysts say that the US Fed will keep its hawkish policy and commitment to curbing inflation. Indeed, Jerome Powell will hardly soften his stance because the labor market remains tense, consumer inflation is still way above the target rate, and financial conditions are getting softer. The Fed Chair is likely to insist that a rate hike by 25 basis points does not mean the end of tightening and it is premature to speak about the ultimate interest rates.

A series of employment reports which is due this week will put extra pressure on risky assets.

Revenue of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta in early February could improve market sentiment. Their reports could make an equally strong impact on Wall Street as the US Fed.

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