By Stephen Culp
Feb 1 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in markets
from Stephen Culp, New York stock market reporter.
Asian stocks are primed for a green Wednesday on the heels
of a broad rally on Wall Street, as a slew of economic data
suggested the Federal Reserve's restrictive monetary policy is
working as directed.
All three major U.S. stock indexes ended bright green and
notched welcome gains for the month.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted its biggest January percentage
advance in 22 years.
Risk appetite was largely fueled by economic data,
specifically the Employment Cost Index (ECI) which decelerated
in the fourth quarter to its slowest growth in a year - yet
another sign that decades-high inflation is beginning to cool.
This is welcome news for the Fed, which is expected to
punctuate its two-day monetary policy meeting on Wednesday with
a 25 basis point hike to the Fed funds target rate, its latest
salvo in its battle against inflation.
Upbeat quarterly results from a handful of major industrial
firms, including Exxon Mobil Corp , United Parcel Service
Inc and General Motors Co added muscle to the
rally.
On Wednesday, market participants will digest factory and
labor market data and parse the Fed's statement and Chairman
Jerome Powell's remarks at the subsequent press conference.
Social media bellwether Meta Platforms Inc posts results after Wednesday's bell as a prologue to Apple Inc , Amazon.com and Alphabet Inc , all
slated for Thursday after the bell.
Crude prices advanced after EIA data showed
solid U.S. energy demand.
Factory data from China showed the manufacturing sector
entered expansion territory after Beijing relaxed its COVID-19
restrictions, further hinting at a global demand rebound.
Here are some key developments that could provide more
direction to markets on Tuesday:
- Japan posts manufacturing PMI (Jan)
- South Korea releases preliminary import/export data (Jan)
- S&P Global unveils Caixin manufacturing PMI for China
(Jan)
- The U.S. economic reports include ISM PMI (Jan), JOLTS
(Dec), ADP payrolls (Jan) and construction spending (Dec)
- The U.S. Federal Reserve issues its Fed funds target rate
decision at 1400 GMT
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(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Editing by Josie Kao)
