Uncertainty over how aggressively the Federal Reserve is going to raise interest rates and concerns over tensions between Ukraine and Russia looks set to dominate market sentiment this week.
Here's what you need to know to start your week:
1. A tense week
Tensions surrounding the presence of Russian forces near Ukraine are entering what could be a decisive week as the U.S. warns that an invasion may be imminent.
Crude prices surged as the prospects of sanctions on Russia added to fears over already tight global supplies, while Wall Street's three main indexes closed sharply lower on Friday, following the news.
Some analysts believe that soaring crude prices could exacerbate already high inflation, adding to pressure on the Fed to raise rates more aggressively.
2. Earnings' close
Though earnings season is drawing to a close, we can still expect a flurry of reports coming in this week.
Bulls view the solid growth as a reason to support higher stock prices, and some key reports on the docket include Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB), NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO).
Retailer Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is also set to report and is better positioned than other retailers to withstand rising price pressures. Deere (NYSE:DE) reports Friday.
3. Stock of the Week
Both before, and during the pandemic, consumers have shown a knack for consistently spending on consumer electronics. The consumer electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), which has over 1,100 stores across North America, earned $2.08 a share in the October quarter as revenue ticked higher from a year ago to $11.91 billion.
Last week, the stock gained nearly 4% with the outperformance looking set to continue in the first half of 2022. Management believes that the retailer is well-positioned for the upcoming holiday season and boosted its full-year same-store sales expectation to between 10.5% and 11.5% growth.
4. Fed speakers
Several Fed officials are due to make appearances this week, including St. Louis Fed's Bullard and Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester.
Fed Governor Lael Brainard, New York Fed President John Williams and, several others are expected to speak on Friday.
In light of the latest CPI reading, Bullard said last week he now wants a full percentage point of interest rate hikes over the next three Fed Meetings, while Goldman Sachs said it now expects seven quarter percentage point rate hikes this year.
5. Crypto staking
Recent guidance provided by the U.S. Treasury Department on transaction reporting by crypto companies shone some light on staking.
Treasury indicated on Friday that "stakers" would be spared from forthcoming rules that are more targeted for brokers rather than investors using their tokens to help order transactions that create new blocks on various blockchain networks.
This signals good news for crypto investors seeking refuge amid the recent downturn in coin prices.
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