The month of April is here and has brought a plethora of important financial and economic events worth keeping in mind. 

Here are this week’s main events and their possible effects on the financial markets:

An illustration of economic charts

Holidays: A Short Trading Week Ahead

This trading week is set to be a short one for the Australian and New Zealandic markets due to Easter Monday (today). In addition, in Asia, Chinese markets will be in a 3-day public holiday period from Thursday in observance of Tomb-Sweeping Day. (Source: Euronews)

Investor Events: 2024 Sohn Investment Conference

On April 3rd, the annual Sohn Investment Conference will be held in New York City. This event has led to market volatility in the past and has affected the prices of many smaller-sized stocks. It will be interesting to see what the effects of this year’s event will be.

Q2 Is Here: What Lies Ahead for the Stock Market?

Following an eventful first quarter whereby corporates reported mixed earnings and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) hype took over, Q2 is finally here.

This quarter, traders, investors, and market watchers may want to keep tabs on the Fed’s rate decision to see how it might affect corporate performance. In addition, they may want to track the trajectory of Wall Street indices like the S&P 500, the tech-heavy Nasdaq (US-TECH 100), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (USA 30) to find out more about where the US equities market is headed. 

CPI: How Is Inflation in the Eurozone?

Eurozone Consumer Price Index (CPI) is expected to be reported this week on Wednesday, April 3rd. 

CPI is one of the most referred-to gauges of inflation and deflation and is highly regarded by Central Banks like the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB). As such, seeing what the results will reveal can help understand the trajectory of the Eurozone’s economy. 

March’s Eurozone CPI data is expected to show a slowdown in inflation. In February Headline Inflation dropped to 2.6% and this week’s report is projected to show a further drop to 2.5%. Moreover, Core CPI (excluding energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco prices) is set to decline to 3%. 

It will be worth seeing how the results will affect the ECB’s monetary policy, especially in light of the fact that this Central Bank has opted for a more dovish stance recently. As such, in case the results show stickier-than-expected inflation, the chances of rate cuts might diminish. 

NFPs: World Largest Economy Update

US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFPs) are set to be released on Friday, April 5th. The NFPs are a measure of the employment sector and can provide valuable insights into the state of the world’s biggest economy.

The upcoming report is expected to reflect an addition of 205,000 jobs last month. If this prediction materialises, it would be a slowdown from February’s 275,000 jobs. 

Besides Friday’s release, traders and consumers alike may want to keep track of Wednesday’s ISM Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) which will be released on Wednesday and is expected to show a slowdown, and the upcoming Fed speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. 

While the results of the releases are yet to be determined, the majority of market watchers seem to be hoping for a “soft landing” following the latest Fed rate decision whereby the Central Bank projected three rate hikes for the year. 

Conclusion

While the month of April is still in its infancy, this week’s upcoming events may reflect the potential this month holds for the markets and the broader economy. Traders, analysts, and consumers may want to keep tabs on this week’s results before approaching the markets.