What to expect in the week ahead (SNOW, OKTA, CRM, ULTA)

Stock futures moved higher in overnight trading Sunday following Friday's big sell-off as investors monitor the latest developments related to the Covid omicron variant.

The Dow was down 1.97%. The S&P 500 tumbled 2.20% and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 3.52% last week. The three major indexes were negative last week.

After a holiday-shortened week, investors will be back in the swing of things amid the Cyber Monday online shopping event. Earnings will be light next week, but there are still some high-profile reports to be seen. On Tuesday, GlobalFoundries, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, NetApp,and Salesforce.com report results. CrowdStrike Holdings, Okta, Snowflake and Splunk report on Wednesday. DocuSign, Dollar General, Kroger, Marvel Technology, Ulta Beauty headline Thursday's Earnings Report.

As for housing market indicators, the National Association of Realtors on Monday released its pending home sales index for October. The consensus estimate is for 117 readings, roughly even with the September figure. On Tuesday, S&P CoreLogic releases the Case-Shiller National Home Price Index for September. Economists have forecast a 19.5% year-over-year gain, down slightly from August's jump of 19.8%.

Economic data releases include the Institute for Supply Management's Chicago Purchasing Managers Index and the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index. Both November reports are due on Tuesday. Expectations for the former are for a reading of 68.9, roughly even with October's figures, while the expectation for the latter is to read 110.4, nearly three points lower than October.

National Association Realtors releases its Pending Home Sales Index for October. The consensus estimate is for 117 readings, roughly even with the September figure. The index, a forward-looking indicator of home sales based on contract signing, fell 8% year-on-year in September and has declined for four consecutive months from last year's levels.

S&P Corelogic For September, Case-Shiller releases the National Home Price Index. Economists forecast a 19.5% year-over-year gain, slightly lower than August's 19.8% jump, the fifth consecutive record increase for the index.

Institute for Supply Management releases its Chicago Purchasing Managers Index for November. The reading is expected to be 68.9, roughly even with the October figures. The index is slightly below its record peak, which was hit in May.

Conference board releases its Consumer Confidence Index for November. The consensus call is for a 110.4 reading, down about three points from October. The index is sharply down from its highs since reaching this summer, due to inflation concerns.

ADP release Its national employment report for November. Private sector employment is expected to increase to 510,000 jobs after an increase of 571,000 in October.

Census Bureau Reports data on construction expenses. Economists forecast 1% month-over-month growth for the construction outlay, a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.59 trillion.

Labour Department Preliminary jobless claims report for the week ending November 27. Claims hit a 52-year low in last week's report, and the four-week average is now slightly higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Bureau of Labor Statistics Releases jobs report for November. Economists have forecast 525,000 benefits for non-farm payrolls, and for the unemployment rate to tick up a tenth of a percentage point to 4.5%.

ISM issues Its services PMI for November. The consensus estimate is for 65 readings, versus October's 66.7, which was a record for the index.