1. Retail review: Several retailers are reporting earnings this week after Macy’s kicked things off on Tuesday with better-than-expected results.
Macy’s offered a healthy outlook for this year, suggesting there is still room in the market for traditional stores even though online companies like Amazon are encroaching on their territory.
L Brands, Crocs and TJX are set to publish their results on Wednesday, alongside Lowe’s, which has mostly avoided the troubles plaguing the rest of the industry.
Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Best Buy and Gap are set to report Thursday. And Foot Locker and JCPenney report Friday.
2. Economic update: The US Bureau of Economic Analysis is releasing its updated report on fourth quarter GDP at 8:30 a.m. ET. The original GDP estimate showed the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.6% in the fourth quarter.
Paul Donovan, global chief economist at UBS Wealth Management, said investors shouldn’t get too “worked up” over any potential revisions.
“The broad picture is of a US economy performing at or above trend,” he said.
India is also due to publish its GDP figures at 7 a.m. ET. A Reuters poll estimates the economy grew by 6.9% in the October-December quarter.
3. Global market overview: There’s a fair bit of negativity in global stock markets right now.
US stock futures are indicating Wall Street could inch higher at the open, but most key markets are sinking in Europe and Asia.
A worse-than-expected Chinese manufacturing report for February is blamed for hitting market sentiment in Asia.
This comes after the Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all dropped by more than 1% on Tuesday. The selling was blamed on concerns about more interest rate hikes after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell publicly expressed confidence about growth prospects for the American economy.
4. Coming this week:
Wednesday — Second estimate of US Q4 GDP; Earnings from Lowe’s, TJX, Salesforce, L Brands, Monster Beverage and Mylan
Thursday — Earnings from Best Buy, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Gap and Barnes & Noble; Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee
Friday — Foot Locker and JCPenney earnings