Last week was all about the Fed. This week will be all about Santa Claus. With the Federal Reserve’s decision about interest rates finally out of the way for a while, there’s a good chance that many traders will be looking to slack off the week before Christmas. The temptation of Christmas cookies, presents and holiday merriment is just too great.
Data this week will be light, which helps with the potential for slacking off. However, what is being released is important. This includes measures of housing, employment and manufacturing. We’ll also see the final quarter-over-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures. Any other week, traders would be deep in digesting the data, but this week it may be too early to dissect to see what the Fed will do down the road, as it just raised rates.
As for earnings, there will be a number of releases from important bellwethers this week. Earnings season is quickly approaching and some of the late third-quarter/early fourth-quarter filers are starting to announce their profits.
In the end, the week should be a light one as traders start heading to the Hamptons for their vacations.
Check out last week’s Market Glance here.
