1.Short squeeze
Last week, retail investors, with the help of Robinhood and other apps, fueled shares of GameStop, AMC, and other social media-backed companies, including WallStreetBets Reddit, which were being actively shorted by hedge funds.
US stocks have experienced their strongest weekly decline since late October due to short squeezes as hedge funds sold stocks to cover their losses, despite positive earnings reports from market heavyweights such as Apple and others.
2. Reports on income
At the height of the quarterly report season, market participants are looking for ways to justify companies' overpricing.
Tech giants Alphabet and Amazon are due to report after the close on Tuesday, followed by Qualcomm, Snap and Pinterest later this week.
3. January employment report
The January US Nonfarm Employment Report will give the market a first glimpse of the state of the labor market inherited by President Joe Biden.
The report is expected to see a slight increase in hiring after the economy lost 140,000 jobs in December (mostly in restaurants and bars), but more substantial improvements are unlikely to occur until a broader economic recovery. The unemployment rate is expected to remain unchanged at 6.7% - almost double what it was just before the pandemic. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said last week that the economic recovery depends on the progress of vaccinations.
4. Hope for incentives
The Democratic-led US Senate and House of Representatives are set to take the first steps to provide new financial assistance to families and businesses affected by the pandemic that has killed more than 433,000 Americans.
The Senate is due to begin work on the bill this week. Although both Republicans and Democrats have concerns about the size of the package proposed by President Biden of $ 1.9 trillion.
The US President said he supports the idea of providing relief from COVID-19 with or without Republicans.
U.S. government debt has risen 40% under Donald Trump, and expectations of additional stimulus are among the factors that recently pushed Treasury yields to 10-month highs.
5. Fed Speeches
Several Fed speakers are scheduled for this week to discuss the labor market and the economy.
Atlanta FRB Governor Rafael Bostic and Boston FRB Governor Eric Rosengren will speak Monday, while New York FRB Governor John Williams and Cleveland FRB Governor Loretta Mester will deliver speeches on Tuesday.
Speeches of the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis James Bullard, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Patrick Harker and the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Charles Evans are scheduled on Thursday.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company - www.instaforex.com