Markets fluctuate based on many factors including risk appetite or risk aversion, fear, greed, and economic or geopolitical influences. There are so many key data points every month that can drive market action and influence monetary policy.
Here is a brief guide to some of the most highly anticipated reports:
- Weekly Jobless Claims: The weekly jobless claims report tells investors how many new unemployment applications have been filed. This is important to investors because it may provide clues on the health of the labor market.
- New Home Sales: The new home sales data tells investors how many new home sales took place that the prior month. This indicator is important because it may help gauge the health of the real estate market.
- GDP: GDP, or Gross Domestic Product, is the broadest indicator of overall economic activity. This data tells investors whether the economy is growing, stagnant or shrinking.
- PMI Manufacturing Flash: The Purchasing Manager’s Index is based on a monthly questionnaire of select companies. The index provides clues to investors on what is happening in the private sector economy.
- Employment Situation: The non-farm payrolls data is released the first Friday of each month and provides investors with labor market data such as jobs added and the unemployment rate. This report can certainly move markets and is one of the biggest reports of the month.
- Beige Book: The Fed’s Beige Book provides a compilation of economic data from each of the Fed’s 12 districts. This report can give investors a glimpse of economic activity from multiple regions.
- Factory Orders: The factory orders data shows investors new order activity for both durable and nondurable goods. It provides investors further insight into overall economic activity.
- ISM Non-Manufacturing Index: A survey from over 375 firms from various sectors, this index provides investors with a broad sense of economic activity in areas such as construction and agriculture.
While there are numerous other data points released on a regular basis, these examples represent some of the most key pieces of data to be digested by investors and policy makers each month. Each and every report has the potential to be market-moving, and a combination of all of these data points helps shape monetary policy.
