Investing.com - The week ahead marks one of the busiest ones of the third-quarter earnings season on Wall Street, with names like Amazon, Google parent Alphabet, Boeing and McDonald's all set to report in the coming days.
There is also important third-quarter U.S. growth data this week, which should lend further support to the notion that the economy is on solid footing.
In addition to earnings and data, market players will also pay close attention to comments from some Federal Reserve speakers this week for additional insight into the outlook for monetary policy in the months ahead.
A recent batch of upbeat economic data combined with hawkish remarks from Fed officials bolstered the case for the U.S. central bank to raise rates in December and beyond, triggering a sharp jump in Treasury yields.
Investors will also be bracing for any news out of the political sphere, as the U.S. midterm elections – due in November – draw closer.
Elsewhere, in Europe, markets are keeping an eye on the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting for further guidance on when the central bank plans to end its bond-buying program and start raising interest rates.
Political headlines will also be in focus as investors watch developments surrounding Italy's ongoing budget drama.
A monetary policy announcement from the Bank of Canada will also be on the agenda, with most analysts expecting a 25-basis point hike, which would be the first increase since July.
Ahead of the coming week, Investing.com has compiled a list of the five biggest events on the economic calendar that are most likely to affect the markets.
1. Amazon, Google Highlight Busy Week of Earnings
There are about 150 S&P 500 companies and 10 Dow members reporting corporate results in what will be one of the busiest weeks of the third-quarter earnings season.
Most of the focus will be on the FANG group of stocks. E-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Google parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) are both due to release numbers Thursday after the markets close.
Some of other high-profile tech names reporting this week are Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR), Snap (NYSE:SNAP), Shopify (NYSE:SHOP), Grubhub (NYSE:GRUB), and iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT).
Among non-tech names, Boeing (NYSE:BA), McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD), Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), Halliburton (NYSE:HAL), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), Raytheon, 3M (NYSE:MMM), Verizon (NYSE:VZ), AT&T (NYSE:T), United Technologies (NYSE:UTX), Harley-Davidson (NYSE:HOG), United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS), Visa (NYSE:V), Ford (NYSE:F), General Electric (NYSE:GE), American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL), Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), and Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) are on the docket.
The corporate earnings season is off to a strong start. With more than 15% of S&P 500 companies having reported, 83% have topped analyst expectations, according to FactSet.
2. U.S. Advanced Third Quarter GDP
Investors will keep an eye on a preliminary reading of third-quarter U.S. growth due at 8:30AM ET Friday (1230GMT) for fresh clues on the strength of the economy.
The data is expected to show the economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.3% in the July-Sept. period, cooling from growth of 4.2%, which was the strongest reading in four years.
Besides the GDP report, this week's rather light economic calendar also features data on durable goods orders for September.
A recent batch of upbeat data signaled that the U.S. economy remains on solid footing, despite rising interest rates and global trade war tensions.
3. Fed Speakers
A number of Fed speeches will get market attention in the week ahead, as traders watch for further clues on interest rates.
Topping the agenda will be remarks from Richard Clarida, who will deliver his first major address as new vice chair on Thursday. He is due to speak about the economic outlook and monetary policy at the Peterson Institute for International Economics Luncheon, in Washington DC at 12:15PM ET (1615GMT).
Speeches from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, Atlanta Fed boss Raphael Bostic, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will also be in focus.
The Fed also releases its Beige Book, a collection of economic anecdotes from each of the central bank’s 12 districts, on Wednesday.
The U.S. central bank raised interest rates late last month, its third rate hike this year, and is expected to follow that up with another increase before the end of December, despite mounting verbal pressure from the White House.
4. European Central Bank Policy Meeting
The European Central Bank is all but certain to keep interest rates at their current record low levels at the conclusion of its monetary policy meeting at 1145GMT (7:45AM ET) on Thursday.
President Mario Draghi will hold a closely-watched press conference 45 minutes after the rate announcement as investors seek further clues on when the central bank plans to start hiking borrowing costs.
The ECB has previously pledged to end its bond-buying program by year-end, while keeping interest rates at current levels well into 2019.
This week's calendar also features flash October PMI surveys on manufacturing and service sector activity, which should give some indication of how the region's economy is coping with global trade conflicts, Italian politics and messy Brexit negotiations.
5. Bank of Canada Rate Decision
The Bank of Canada's latest interest rate decision is due at 10:00AM ET (1400GMT) on Wednesday, with most experts expecting the central bank to raise its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 1.75%.
If confirmed, it would be the fifth rate hike since July 2017, as policymakers attempt to keep a booming economy in check.
The BoC is then expected to tighten policy two more times in 2019, as Canada’s economy will continue to grow faster than its potential over the coming quarters thanks to U.S. fiscal stimulus boosting demand for its exports.
A deal at the end of September to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has reduced the risk of Canada’s exports being disrupted, setting the stage for more interest rate hikes from the central bank.
Stay up-to-date on all of this week's economic events by visiting: http://www.investing.com/economic-calendar/