2 Sept. 2024 Market Events from Europe, the US, Canada & Australia

The week of 2 September 2024 is packed with economic events from Europe, the US, and Canada. These events can provide market participants with a helpful overview of the global economic landscape and the possible trajectory of the financial markets.

Here’s what you need to know about this week’s main events:

Eurozone: GDP, Inflation & Industrial Production

Key data, including Gross Domestic Product (GDP), industrial production, and inflation, will be released from the bloc this week. 

Q2 GDP will be released on Friday, 6 September. Ahead of this release, one may want to keep in mind that in the prior two GDP estimates, Q1 and Q2, the bloc’s economy steadily grew by 0.3%. Back then, this was deemed a sign of recovery from H2 2023’s stagnation, with Italy, Spain, Belgium, and France showing the biggest growth. Conversely, the Eurozone’s largest economy, Germany, contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter. This time, the GDP data is expected to “confirm the Eurozone’s growth at 0.3%.”

Other releases from the Eurozone this week include Switzerland’s August inflation and Q2 GDP on Tuesday (3 September) and Germany’s industrial production figures on Friday (6 September). Germany’s release is projected to show further factory activity weakness, while Switzerland’s GDP is expected to show signs of economic acceleration. Inflation data is expected to rise by 0.1%, which, in turn, could “encourage the SNB to continue its rate reductions.”

It will be interesting to see how and if these releases affect the European and broader markets. 

Crucial US Labour Data & PMI

The world’s biggest economy is in for a “crucial” week. On Friday, 6 September, the release of August’s non-farm payrolls (NFPs), a closely watched indicator by the Federal Reserve, will take centre stage. 

The NFPs will take place amid recent signs of easing employment and slower wage growth, on the one hand, and cooling inflation, on the other. Notably, 114,000 jobs were added to the US economy in July, below expectations, while unemployment hit its highest level since October 2021. 

This week’s release is projected to show that in August, the US economy added 163,000 new jobs as unemployment dropped to 4.2%.

Besides the jobs report, the US will release the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) on Tuesday, 3 September.

Only time will reveal how the world’s largest economy has performed amid economic uncertainties, recession fears, rising unemployment, and geopolitical tensions and wars.

Canada: Rate Decision & Jobs 

Canada is another country in the spotlight this week. The Canadian central bank, the Bank of Canada (BoC), is set to reveal its interest rate decision on Wednesday, 4 September.  

The BoC, which has cut rates twice in a row since June, is projected to do the same in the upcoming meeting as well. Inflation and jobs data are among the main figures that the BoC will consider. Canada’s inflation in July dropped to 2.5%, the slowest since March 2021, which could further strengthen the dovish rate cuts this year. 

Canada’s jobs data are expected to be published on Friday. What the reports show is unclear, but it will likely affect the BoC’s decision. 

Australia GDP 

Australia’s Q2 GDP is set to be released on Tuesday, 3 September. The country’s economy grew by a mere 0.1% in Q1 due to lower consumer spending, worsened by higher inflation, household debt, and living costs.

Despite the less-than-favourable factors, tomorrow’s data is projected to slightly improve by 0.2%.

The releases will likely affect the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) decisions ahead of the upcoming meeting on 9 December. 

Earnings

On the corporate end, a few earnings are set to take place this week, with these being the main ones:

• Gitlab (GTLB) and Zscaler (ZS.US) on Tuesday, 3 September.

• Dollar Tree (DLTR) and C3.ai (AI) on Wednesday, 4 September.

• Broadcom (AVGO) and NIO (NIO) on Thursday, 5 September.

It will be worth monitoring the above-mentioned releases to better understand the market and how the economic reports have affected the corporate sphere. (Source: Nasdaq)

Conclusion

This week is packed with important market and global economy events. These will help those seeking a better understanding of the financial sector as we dive deeper into a new month and near the year’s end. What will the data reveal? Will this affect the markets? Only time will tell.