What to Expect in the Week Ahead (DELL, CRWD and MINISO Earnings; GDP, FOMC Minutes and PCE Index )

Next week, earnings reports from tech firms Dell Technologies, CrowdStrike, and HP will be among the highlights of the corporate calendar.

Macroeconomic Events

Interest rate expectations will return to the spotlight next week with crucial inflation figures and the release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes before Thanksgiving, as investors conclude a significant month for the markets following the election of President-elect Donald Trump.

The October personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index, scheduled for release on Wednesday, could undermine the already fading hopes for a rate decrease in December if it exceeds expectations. This would also heighten concerns—reignited following recent data on consumer and producer prices—that reaching the central bank's 2% inflation goal could prove to be the toughest stretch. Economists anticipate the PCE might indicate persistent inflation. The inflation rate is projected to rise 0.2% month-over-month and 2.3% year-over-year, based on FactSet consensus estimates. This would be a slight increase from 0.18% and 2.1% in the previous month.

Core inflation, which omits the erratic food and energy sectors, is predicted to rise by 0.3% monthly and 2.8% annually, up from 0.25% and 2.7% previously. For investors, the key will be whether the stock market can handle any surge in the data and any shifts in expectations for rate cuts, particularly during a week shortened by the holiday, which could result in reduced trading volumes and increased market volatility towards the end of November. U.S. markets will be closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving and will also close early at 1 p.m. ET on Friday.

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve will publish the minutes from the November session of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). This document will detail the discussions held by committee members during their meeting on November 6-7, when they decided to reduce interest rates by a quarter percentage point. The minutes could also provide clues about the future direction of the Fed's interest rate reduction strategy.

Elsewhere next week, there is housing data, a sticking point in pricing pressures not coming down, as well as earnings from a slew of AI-related names following Nvidia's results this week, including Dell Technologies and CrowdStrike.