What to expect in the week ahead (GME, PATH, COST, ORCL)

S&P 500 futures were higher even after a losing week on Wall Street as investors ditched equities amid concerns over the new omicron Covid variant and the Federal Reserve's move to tighten policy.

Nasdaq stock futures were the underperformer on Sunday following a big drop in bitcoin over the weekend and as investors continued to rethink owning tech stocks with high valuations.

Meme stock darling GameStop headlines next week's earnings report lineup. The videogame retailer reports results after the market closes on Wednesday. AutoZone, Casey's General Stores, and Toll Brothers report earnings on Tuesday, followed by Brown-Forman and Campbell Soup on Wednesday. Broadcom, Costco Wholesale, and Hormel Foods round things out on Thursday.

On Monday, Union Pacific will hold a conference call to discuss its climate action plan. McKesson and Southwest Airlines host their 2021 investor days on Wednesday, followed by CVS Health and Tyson Foods on Thursday.

The Federal Reserve's report on consumer credit data for October will be released on Tuesday. On Thursday, the U.S. Labor Department reports initial jobless claims for the week ending on Dec. 4.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the consumer price index for November on Friday. The consensus estimate is for a 6.7% year-over-year jump, half a percentage point more than in October. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to rise 4.8% versus 4.6% previously.

The Federal Reserve reports on consumer credit data for October. After falling slightly last year, total outstanding consumer debt has risen an average of $20 billion a month through September, and stands at a record $4.37 trillion.

The BLS releases the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Economists forecast 10.5 million job openings on the last business day of October, only 600,000 less than the record high of 11.1 million in July.

The Bank of Canada announces its monetary-policy decision. The central bank is expected to keep its key short-term interest rate unchanged at 0.25%. At its late-October meeting, the bank ended its quantitative-easing program and signaled that its first interest-rate hike would be earlier in 2022 than had been expected.

The Department of Labor reports initial jobless claims for the week ending on Dec. 4. Jobless claims averaged 238,750 in November, the lowest since the beginning of the pandemic, and just 24,750 more than in February of 2020.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the consumer price index for November. Consensus estimate is for a 6.7% year-over-year jump, half a percentage point more than in October. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is expected to rise 4.8% versus 4.6% previously. October's 6.2% increase was the hottest the CPI has run in more than 30 years, and this past week Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell finally ditched "transitory" when discussing inflation before the Senate Banking Committee.

The University of Michigan releases its Consumer Sentiment index for December. Economists forecast a 66 reading, slightly less than the November data.