The Federal Reserve dominates today's economic calendar.
The central bank's Chicago branch releases it regional activity index at 8:30 a.m. ET. The gauge is not likely to affect market sentiment but will reflect on the strength of the broader economy. Dennis Lockhart, president of the Atlanta Fed, will give a speech at 9:20 a.m. William Dudley (New York) and Richard Fisher (Dallas) follow at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively. Their comments will be watched closely for clues on the direction of monetary policy and interest rates.
Software maker Red Hat also reports earnings after the closing bell.
Tomorrow is focused heavily on residential real estate, featuring the Case-Shiller and FHFA house-price indexes, as well as earnings from homebuilders KB Home and Lennar. Germany's Ifo survey of business conditions, U.S. consumer-confidence data, and the Richmond Fed's index round out the session. Cruise-ship operator Carnival will also issue quarterly results.
Wednesday brings durable-goods orders and new-home sales, plus earnings from AutoZone, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Jabil Circuit.
Thursday's calendar includes final estimates of second-quarter U.S. economic growth, pending home sales, initial jobless claims, and the Kansas City Fed's index. Accenture and Nike will report earnings after the closing bell.
Friday shifts the attention back overseas, with French economic-growth numbers, Italian manufacturing data, and European economic sentiment on the docket.
The focus remains on the global picture over the weekend as key manufacturing numbers are released in both Japan and China. That theme continues early into the following week with more European news before shifting back to the key non-farm payrolls report in the U.S. on Friday, Oct. 4.
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