The highlight of today’s economic calendar is the publication of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June monetary policy meeting. Last month the US central bank surprised everyone by announcing it is getting ready to tighten policy earlier than planned. For example, the timeline for interest rate hikes was brought forward to 2023 versus 2024 as previously expected.
Investors hope that the minutes will reveal more details about the plausibility of an early rate hike. In addition, there could be more information about tapering the Fed’s asset purchases program, which is pumping stimulus funds into the US economy right now but might not be necessary if inflation continues to rise so quickly.
The JOLTS report on job availability will also come out today and is expected to show numbers over 9.3 million, auguring well for the US job market.
Today US stock indices are set to recover slightly after the sluggish trading at the end of last week and the slow start yesterday. Investors are gradually shaking off concerns about the instability of the oil market and are ready to bet on stocks again.
A company to keep an eye on, as always, is Amazon. This time the tech giant made the news because it is expected to develop cloud computing technology for the Pentagon, likely in conjunction with Microsoft. Amazon shares have already grown by at least 5% in the last 24 hours.
Another company worth investing in right now, also from the tech sector, is Samsung. The South Korean tech giant announced that it posted record profits in the second quarter of 2021, largely due to higher chipset prices (brought about by the global semiconductor shortages).
Furthermore, crude oil prices have continued to increase due to improving forecasts about the demand for oil and the current bigger-than-expected shortage in supply. The Brent crude reached $75.02, while the WTI reached $73.78 per barrel. Note that these levels are slightly lower than the maximums reached at the end of last week but more growth is expected where it comes to crude oil.
