Finance week: Fed minutes, elections and Thanksgiving in the US

Stock markets are gearing up for a week of, among other things, the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting. Wall Street will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday and open for a shortened trading day on the shopping festival of Black Friday. In Amsterdam, investors’ attention will turn to Dutch parliamentary elections on Wednesday.

The report will be released on Tuesday. This may provide more clarity on the Federal Reserve’s future interest rate policy. The Fed has taken a pause in raising interest rates and financial markets believe the Fed is now actually done with hikes. There is even speculation that interest rates will be cut next year. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell has warned that the central bank will not hesitate to raise interest rates further if necessary to control inflation. And several central bank officials have said more hikes are likely.

The highlight of the quarter season is over

Quarterly earnings in equity markets have surpassed seasonal highs. In Amsterdam, investor HAL will provide a quarterly update. HAL is the owner of drilling company and offshore services provider Boskalis and also has major interests in tank storage company Vopak and offshore oil services provider SBM Offshore. Chip group Nvidia, retail chains Best Buy and Lowe’s, and tractor manufacturer Deere also have figure releases in the US.

In the macroeconomic field, data on consumer confidence in the euro zone, business confidence in Germany and economic activity in the euro area and the US are projected. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) still reports, for example, the prices of existing owner-occupied houses in the Netherlands.

Benefits

On the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the AEX index rose 0.6 percent to close at 758.59 points on Friday. Elsewhere in Europe, prices rose by up to 1.3 percent. New York’s major indicators entered the weekend with modest gains. It marked Wall Street’s third consecutive trading week with gains.

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