U.S. Economic Data and Fed Minutes to Shape Market Focus This Week

This week, the U.S. stock market will operate for only four days due to a holiday closure on Monday. According to RTHK, the market's attention will be on the minutes from last month's Federal Reserve meeting, along with the latest inflation and GDP data. The Federal Reserve is set to release the minutes of its monetary policy meeting early Thursday morning, UTC+8. Investors are keenly observing the divide between officials advocating for maintaining current rates and those supporting rate cuts. Several officials are also scheduled to speak throughout the week. On Friday, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index, will be released. The market anticipates a slight monthly increase to 0.3% for December, with the annual rate holding steady at 2.8%. Core data is expected to show a modest expansion to 0.3% monthly and 2.9% annually. The preliminary GDP growth rate for the fourth quarter of last year will also be announced on Friday, with forecasts suggesting a slowdown to 3% from the third quarter's 4.4%. This data may be influenced by the recent U.S. government shutdown. Additional data releases include December's durable goods orders, building permits, housing starts, and new home sales; January's industrial production and pending home sales index; February's preliminary S&P Global Manufacturing and Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI); and the final University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. Furthermore, Walmart is scheduled to report its quarterly earnings on Thursday.