Inflation, earnings, home prices: Economic data to watch this week

Yahoo Finance's Alexandra Semenova joins the Live show to break down economic data to watch for this week.

Video transcript

BRAD SMITH: I want to quickly mention some economic data that just crossed. Pending home sales unexpectedly rebounded in May after declining for six straight months. That number coming in at 7/10 of a percent month over month higher. Now, economists had been expecting a drop of 4%. And as we enter into the final week of the first half of the year, we have a very busy week ahead. Here to help us break it all down, we've got Yahoo Finance's own Alexandra Semenova. Alex, great to see you. So what should we be keeping an eye on this week?

ALEXANDRA SEMENOVA: Well, Brad, as you've said, it's a bit of a turning point on Wall Street this week. It's the last week of the month, of the quarter, and of the first six months of 2022, which, so far, are shaping up to be the worst for stocks since 1970. And last week, we-- you know, stocks rallied. And investors left the week, hoping that stocks found a bottom. And the next six months, you know, will leave room for upside. But as you can see today, stocks are struggling to sustain that momentum.

So, you know, we've seen this happen over and over again this year, where we see downturn, and then there's a rally. And suddenly, investors think that the worst is behind them. But then, you know, stocks just keep going down. And we have a number of reports this week that might sway markets. We have Nike and Micron earnings on tap. Those are the two standouts this week.

And investors are going to be looking not only for how they perform during the quarter, but for any economic warnings that these companies have been issuing and how they're dealing with inflation and all of the macroeconomic headwinds that some companies are experiencing. So that could kind of weigh on the sentiment, too, for the rest of the year.

JULIE HYMAN: Yeah, we're going to be looking for currency. I know you're-- Brad's on currency commentary watch from some of these companies, as well the effect on profits. What else is on tap this week on either the economic or earnings front that we need to be watching?

ALEXANDRA SEMENOVA: Yeah, well, we have a lot of economic data as well for the week. We have the personal expenditures data out this week. Core PCE, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, is going to be closely watched by investors for the latest snapshot of whether prices are still going back up. We have the Consumer Confidence Index, which is going to be quite critical to see how consumers are holding up amid higher prices and inflation.

We have a few manufacturing and housing reports out, which, Brian, as you said in your "Morning Brief," have been market movers lately, as investors are looking for signs of how the economy is faring. And we do have Fed chair Jerome Powell speaking at the European Central Bank Forum as well. And of course, Fed speak is always quite market moving. So investors are going to be watching that closely.

BRIAN SOZZI: Thanks for the "Morning Brief" shoutout. I greatly appreciate it. Alexandra Semenova, we'll see you soon.