Monetary policy: The Federal Reserve is expected to lift borrowing costs, albeit at a slower pace than last year. Economists anticipate a quarter-point interest rate increase, taking the benchmark rate to a range of 4.50 per cent to 4.75 per cent. The Fed raised rates in December by a half-point after four 0.75 per cent increases from June to November.
Debt ceiling: US president Joe Biden is set to meet with Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy about the debt ceiling for the first time. The Biden administration has stressed the need for the country to avoid an unprecedented default, urging Republican congressional leadership to support raising the debt ceiling, the legal limit on the federal government’s borrowing.
Job market: Labour department data are expected to show a decline in open positions, from 10.46mn in November to 10.25mn. Although job openings are down from a two-year peak of 11.55mn in March 2022, according to Refinitiv data, they have hovered between 10mn and 10.7mn since the end of the summer, pointing to tight and resilient labour market, despite the Fed’s efforts to cool the economy.
Meta: Investors will look for signs of recovery in the tech giant’s ad business, as Facebook’s parent company reports its latest quarterly earnings after the market closes. Digital advertisers have pulled back on online ad campaigns as a way to cut costs amid recession fears. With advertising accounting for almost all of Meta’s revenue, the tech group is expected to post a third consecutive quarter of revenue declines. Analysts predict it to have earned $2.23 a share on revenue of $31.53bn in the last three months of the past year, compared with $3.67 a share on revenue of $33.67bn during the same period the previous year.
Other earnings: The maker of Marlboro cigarettes in the US, Altria, connected fitness company Peloton and telecommunications company T-Mobile will report earnings before the market opens. Insurer Allstate and shooting sports manufacturer Vista Outdoor report after the closing bell.
Manufacturing: The US manufacturing sector is expected to have shrunk for the third consecutive month in January. Economists forecast the Institute for Supply Management manufacturing purchasing managers’ index forecast to come in at 48, down from 48.4 in December. A reading below 50 indicates a shrinking sector, while a reading above 50 corresponds to industry growth.
