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Traders are now focusing on how soon the U.S. Federal Reserve will lower interest rates in 2024, and they should watch closely if inflation keeps decelerating. According to Trading Central's "Economic Insight", the U.S. Inflation Rate for December (due Thursday, January 11) is expected to tick down to 3.0% on year from 3.1% in November.

Most major markets will be closed on Christmas holidays (Monday & Tuesday) next week. According to Trading Central's "Economic Insight", Japan’s Retail Sales (due Thursday, December 28) are expected to grow 0.3% on month and 3.9% on year in November.

Using Trading Central's Market Buzz and looking into Top Buzzing ranking to find premarket moves, we have identified Nike as an interesting choice.

The S&P 500 surpassed a key resistance level on July 27 and is now within 2 per cent of its record high set on Jan. 4. Our interest now lies in identifying stocks that are maintaining positions close to their 52-week highs, driven by robust price momentum and technical strength. These metrics hold particular significance for traders who closely align with a trend-following strategy – a focus area of our analyst team.

The Bank of Japan will express how it views the current economic growth, inflation and interest rate environment when announcing its interest-rate decision on Tuesday (December 19), which could send shock waves across global stock and forex markets. According to Trading Central's "Economic Insight", the BOJ is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged at a negative level of -0.100%.

The Japanese yen is currently boosted by market expectations that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will soon end its long-running ultra-easy monetary policy. Investors are therefore watching closely the Bank of Japan Tankan Report (due Wednesday, December 13) in which sentiment of large Japanese enterprises is gauged. Meanwhile, central banks of the U.S., the U.K. and the E.U. are expected to hold interest rates unchanged next week.

A screen for Large-cap stocks listed in the United States exhibiting above-average dividend growth and yield that are trading near 52-week highs.

Some investors are betting the Fed will even cut interest rates in the first quarter of 2024 the earliest. They would therefore like to see continuously softening labor data, which could lead the central bank to shift gear. The U.S. Official Jobs Report (due Friday, December 8) is expected to show that the growth of non-farm payrolls will slow to 100,000 in November.

Using Trading Central's Market Buzz for understanding premarket moves, Unity Software has been identified as an interesting choice.

Using Trading Central's Market Buzz and looking into Top Buzzing ranking to find premarket moves, we have identified Shopify as an interesting choice.

While the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to pause rate-hike again in December, expectations are growing that the central bank will start cutting interest rates next year. Investors are therefore closely watching another round of U.S. inflation data due next week.

Our analyst team searched for Top-quality U.S equities from a factor-investing perspective benefiting from the trend in artificial intelligence (AI).

While market expectations are that the U.S. Federal Reserve is already done with its rate-hike cycle (the most rapid one in decades), investors are looking into inflation data for clues on how long the Fed will keep its rates at current levels. According to Trading Central's "Economic Insight", the U.S. Core Inflation Rate (due Tuesday, November 14) will slow down to 3.8% on year in October.

The coming week will be a busy one for investors, as central banks of the U.S., the U.K. and Japan are scheduled to announce their interest-rate decisions.

This week, we searched for U.S.-listed companies with consistent cash flow growth, favorable debt/equity ratios and high-quality factor ratings, demonstrating strong operational efficiency and overall financial stability. By pinpointing such stocks, investors can uncover potential investment opportunities that align with their objectives, whether they be for growth potential, reduced financial risk or high-quality performance in their portfolios.

While the U.S. Federal Reserve paused its rate-hikes in September, investors are watching closely if the ECB will follow suit (rate announcement on Thursday, October 26).

The S&P 500 index has grappled with a sharp decline of just over 6 per cent since its September high amid rising interest rates which have sent shockwaves through financial markets. Our stock screen has identified a select group of U.S.-listed companies that appear to be defying the odds. Even in the face of the broader market’s challenges, these stocks continue to outperform the S&P 500.

Investors are now watching closely if upcoming inflation data (due Thursday, October 12) would trigger the central bank to resume hiking rates.

Top-quality U.S.-listed stocks using a methodology that examines a quality-factor investing strategy

As widely expected, the U.S. Federal Reserve maintained its policy rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range. The next piece of inflation data the Fed watches carefully should be the Core Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index.