Next Week At A Glance

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For a more comprehensive preview of next week's events, please refer to "The Monday Report", published each Monday morning. For all economic data release dates, ex-div dates and times and other relevant information, please refer to the FNArena Calendar.

By Greg Peel

With a backdrop of fresh volatility, next week is a big week in global financial markets. It’s also a short week because of Good Friday. In the US, this means the one day off and then back to business on Monday. In Australia, we have a four-day week followed by a four-day break, a three-day week and a three-day break, coinciding with school holidays. Watch out for tumbleweeds down Bridge Street between Easter and Anzac Day.

Tonight sees the first Dow stock reporting its quarterly results, in the form of JP Morgan, with fellow bank Wells Fargo joining in. For many, this represents the true start to the much anticipated earnings season. Where goeth the earnings results will largely determine where goeth the US stock market from here. But next week also sees a raft of economic data releases.

Releases include retail sales, inventories, inflation, housing sentiment, housing starts, industrial production, the Empire State and Philly Fed manufacturing indices and the Fed Beige Book. How is the US economy really faring? Next week will provide plenty of clues.

On Wednesday, China will deliver its monthly data dump for March, including retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment numbers. More importantly, China will release its March quarter GDP result. Hang on to your hats.

Will the ECB really introduce QE? Or is it all just a lot of central bank hot air from a wily Mario Draghi? Next week’s data releases include German industrial production as well as eurozone inflation and trade numbers and the closely watched ZEW investor sentiment survey.

With Easter approaching, Australia will go data-lite next week, although the following tumbleweed week will see the March quarter CPI snuck in. But there’ll be plenty of action on the stock market as the big resource sector names start rolling out their quarterly production and sales numbers. Next week’s release highlights include those from BHP Billiton ((BHP)), Rio Tinto ((RIO)), OZ Minerals ((OZL)), Iluka Resources ((ILU)), Woodside Petroleum ((WPL)) and Santos ((STO)).

Dick Smith ((DSH)) will report his quarterly sales as well.
 

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