December's Must-See Financial Events

Looking ahead to December, several major events will take place in the U.S. stock market, including the last Federal Reserve interest rate meeting of the year. The market will focus on the Fed's future monetary policy path, along with key economic data releases such as non-farm payrolls, CPI, and PPI.

December 2: The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) will release the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for November. The index measures the performance of the manufacturing sector, providing insights into business conditions, including production levels, new orders, employment, and supplier deliveries.

December 4: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak at the DealBook/Summit event organized by the New York Times. During this event, Powell may offer insights into the Federal Reserve's views on the economy, monetary policy, inflation, and financial markets. Any hints about the direction of interest rates or changes in economic outlook could have a significant impact on the markets, especially given the timing ahead of the last interest rate meeting of the year.

December 6: The U.S. Department of Labor will release the Nonfarm Payrolls report and the Unemployment Rate for November. Meanwhile, the Unemployment Rate reveals the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed but actively seeking work.

December 11: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November will be released, showing the rate of inflation faced by consumers.

December 17: The U.S. Census Bureau will release the Retail Sales report for November, which shows the month-over-month changes in the total value of sales at the retail level.

December 18: The Federal Reserve will announce its last rate decision of 2024, followed by a press conference by Fed Chair Jerome Powell. During the press conference, Powell is likely to provide details on the factors that influenced the rate decision and offer guidance on the Fed’s future monetary policy direction.

December 25: The U.S. Stock markets will close early on December 24 in observance of Christmas Eve, and be closed on December 25 for Christmas Day.

Source: moomoo