Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Monday, April 29:
1. Alphabet in spotlight in busy earnings week
Google’s parent-company Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) will be the highlight of earnings season on Monday, in a week that will see more than 150 S&P 500 companies report.,
Reporting after the close, Google is expected to post a 6% rise in profit to $10.53 a share from a year earlier, a far cry from the 32% rise registered in the fourth quarter. Year-to-date, the company’s shares have advanced nearly 23%, surpassing the 17% jump registered by the S&P 500.
Swedish-based Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) and Restaurant Brands (NYSE:QSR) will also release earnings ahead of Monday’s opening bell.
2. Boeing CEO to face shareholders
Boeing (NYSE:BA) Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg will face shareholders on Monday for the first time since two fatal crashes that led to the grounding of its 737 MAX airplanes.
The crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX on March 10, with 157 fatalities came just five months after a similar Lion Air accident that killed 189 passengers and crew.
Muilenburg is struggling to present a software fix and new pilot training package that will convince regulators that the plane is safe to fly. Various reports over the weekend suggested that numerous whistleblowers currently or previously employed by Boeing had called the Federal Aviation Administration after the preliminary findings of an investigation into the second crash.
Separately, The Wall Street Journal reported that Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), the largest customer of the 737 MAX, said it had not been informed that a standard safety feature to warn of malfunctioning sensors had been deactivated until after the Lion Air crash.
While Boeing has yet to submit the changes for review, Reuters reported that the FAA could approve a restart of flights by the 737 MAX in late May or early June.
3. Wall Street hovers near record highs
Coming on the back of two consecutive record closes for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, U.S. futures pointed to a muted open on Monday as markets prepped this week for a deluge of earnings, the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and the monthly jobs report.
At 5:35 AM ET (9:35 GMT), the blue-chip Dow futures inched up 2 points while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 1 points, virtually unchanged.
A stronger-than-expected reading of U.S. economic growth in the first quarter, while inflation remains in check, buoyed stocks on Friday, but the Dow was hindered last week by disappointing earnings from Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and industrial giant 3M (NYSE:MMM) which weighed on the index. It still remains just 1.5% away from all-time highs.
European shares headed higher on Monday, boosted by record highs on Wall Street and led by Italian shares that celebrated Standard & Poor’s decision to affirm the country’s rating. Spain was a notable exception, with shares off 0.5%, as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez maintained his lead in the country’s elections, claiming a victory against right-wing opponents.
With Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed for a holiday, Asian shares saw mixed action on Monday. China’s Shanghai Composite was unable to recover from its worst weekly performance since October despite data that showed profits at Chinese industrial firms grew for the first time in four months.
4. Oil extends losses as Trump insists on lower prices
Oil extended losses for a fourth consecutive session as U.S. President Donald Trump pressured OPEC to bring prices down and Russia indicated that oil flows in Eastern Europe should return to normal in the next two weeks.
U.S. crude oil futures fell 40 cents, or 0.6%, to $62.90 by 5:37 AM ET (9:37 GMT), while Brent oil traded down 51 cents, or 0.7%, to $71.12.
“Gasoline prices are coming down. I called up OPEC, I said you've got to bring them down. You've got to bring them down,” Trump told reporters on Friday.
Also depressing prices, Russia indicated that it will be able to quickly resolve contamination issues that had choked off flows to Poland and Germany through the Druzhba oil pipeline.
Prior to the recent decline, oil had hit six-month highs after the White House announced it would no longer grant waivers to oil purchases from Iran, reigniting concerns over supply squeezes.
Even with the 5.6% drop in the lost four days, U.S. crude is still up around 38% so far this year.
Read more: Commodities Week Ahead: More Bullets On Oil Rally From Trump? $1,300 For Gold? - Barani Krishnan
5. Inflation in spotlight ahead of Fed decision
The focus for economic data on Monday’s calendar will be on inflation ahead of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision this week.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for February at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT). The annualized reading of the core PCE price index, known as the Fed’s preferred inflation indicator, is expected to have slowed from January’s reading of 1.8% to 1.7% in both February and March.
Muted inflation has been a key factor to support the Fed’s decision to drop thoughts of further policy tightening this year. No changes are expected in interest rates when policymakers announce their decision on Wednesday.
Also included in the BEA report, personal income and spending will give insight into the state of the American consumer. The report includes data for both February and March as the BEA finally comes up to speed after the government shutdown.