Chinese industrial production and consumer sentiment are the two main items on today's economic calendar.
The Chinese data, due in the overnight session, could have a big impact on commodity prices and thus broader sentiment, especially if it disappoints.
European industrial production also has the potential to affect trading when it's released a few hours later.
The first U.S. data release is the producer price index at 8:30 a.m. ET. It will probably be ignored because inflation isn't a major concern right now.
The University of Michigan's consumer-sentiment index is scheduled for 9:55 a.m. ET. Economists expect a reading of 89.5, up from November's 88.8 reading. It's not clear how the news will be received because investors have mostly priced in a strong domestic economy. Strong retail-sales data yesterday triggered early buying that later faded.
The weekend brings a potentially important event with Japan holding early elections on Sunday, which are needed for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to enact pro-growth policies.
Next week features a variety of economic reports, none of which is clearly the most important.
The New York Federal Reserve's Empire Manufacturing index comes out on Monday, along with industrial production, capacity utilization, and NAHB's homebuilder-sentiment index. VeriFone Systems announces results after the closing bell. The following overnight session brings manufacturing data from China and Europe.
Germany's Zew survey of economic sentiment, housing starts, and building permits follow on Tuesday. Darden Restaurants reports quarterly numbers as well.
Wednesday marks the start of Greek elections and brings the Fed's last monetary-policy announcement of the year. Mortgage applications and consumer prices are also due in the morning, while Chinese housing data follows in the evening. FedEx, General Mills, and Joy Global are on the pre-market earnings lineup, while Oracle reports in the afternoon.
Thursday brings initial jobless claims, the Philadelphia Fed's regional-activity index, and natural-gas inventories. Accenture and Rite-Aid announce results early. Nike and Red Hat report after the closing bell.
The week concludes with numbers from BlackBerry and CarMax early Friday.
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