The upcoming week promises to be crucial for economic data, with significant indicators like the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure and the PCE data releasing shortly. Additionally, the October non-farm payroll report and third-quarter earnings from major entities such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are all set to influence market trends as November makes its entrance. Last week saw a mixed performance across the three primary U.S.
stock indices. Tesla's stock surge resulted in the Nasdaq closing up approximately 0.9%, marking its seventh consecutive week of gains and nearing an all-time high. Conversely, the S&P 500 recorded a decline of 0.3%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average faced a drop of 2.6%, both breaking a six-week streak of positive performance.
In the cryptocurrency realm, significant declines were noted last week. Bitcoin was priced at $67,668, reflecting a fall of 2.18% over the last seven days, while Ethereum dropped nearly 10% to $2,490. In foreign exchange and commodities markets, the U.S. dollar index soared to near a three-month high by Friday, achieving a weekly gain of 0.8%—its fourth consecutive week of increases.
This was alongside a 1.9% decline in the Japanese yen, largely attributed to political uncertainties. Amid the instability in the Middle East and approaching U.S. elections, alongside global central banks' expectations for interest rate cuts, spot gold reached a historic high for three consecutive days last week, retracting some gains but still ending the week up over 0.9%, continuing its streak of six weeks of gains.
Furthermore, tensions in the Middle East propelled gains exceeding 4% for both U.S. and Brent crude oil. As markets anticipate a soft landing for the U.S. economy, the upcoming series of economic data releases will be critical in validating investors' expectations. This Wednesday will see the release of the U.S.
third-quarter GDP estimate, followed by the latest September PCE data on Thursday, and the highly anticipated October non-farm payroll report on Friday. With the policy meeting on the horizon, Federal Reserve officials are in their routine silent period, and the market widely expects a 25 basis point rate cut to be announced.
The dense schedule of data releases, combined with the impending U.S. elections, is likely to elevate market volatility significantly..