Week Ahead: Earnings Season Kicks Off

US markets have hit record highs but could the Q2 earnings season take the shine off stocks?

With two weeks to go until to earnings season begins, 82% of companies with revised earnings estimates going into the reporting period have revised them down. Lowballing by Wall Street before earnings season is normal, but the scale of the downward revisions has raised a few eyebrows. We saw the same thing ahead of the Q3 2018 earnings, just before stocks slumped into a bear market. Although that slump proved temporary, the pattern is worth noting. Earnings season unofficially kicks off with Citigroup on Wall Street on Monday and continues through to mid-August.

We’ll be hosting a daily walkthrough of what to watch out for on XRay covering everything you need to know from US earnings season.

In the UK, watch for trading updates from SSE, Thomas Cook, Anglo American and easyJet on Thursday.

China GDP – Will We See a Slowdown?

Macro data will be in focus this week as markets watch to see whether the slowdown in global growth is gaining pace.

Chinese GPD and industrial production numbers are due early Monday. Q2 growth is seen slowing to 6.2% from 6.4% in Q1. For the rest of the year economists think the economy will grow at 6.2%, this would mark a 30-year low for the country. While there are many factors at play, the ongoing trade war with the US must take some of the blame for the slowdown.

Australian employment data

Australia’s dollar looks likely to be sensitive to employment data this week, with traders looking for clues about when interest rates may be cut again. The Reserve Bank of Australia has tied monetary policy directly to the labour market. The RBA has already cut rates but the question is how many more are in the offing?

Its a busy few weeks with earnings season, and there are lots of reports coming out this week. Below are the major reports to watch out for this week.

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Take a look at the upcoming events for your economic calendar. For a full list, head to our platform.