A preview of what awaits financial markets next week: Investors will mainly monitor inflation figures from various European countries and the US debt ceiling. As for the business figures, it is quiet.
Statistics Netherlands will release its first estimate of inflation figures for May on Thursday. Figures on cost of living are expected from Germany, France and the eurozone.
Recently, inflation in the Netherlands fell from a peak in autumn last year, but suddenly rose again in April. This was mainly due to a less pronounced fall in energy prices, but more expensive food also played a role.
Inflation figures indicate whether the European Central Bank’s (ECB) interest rate hikes are starting to have an effect. If this is not enough, further rate hikes are expected. ECB policymakers will meet again in mid-June.
US government debt ceiling
Although the White House and Republicans have reached an agreement in principle on the debt ceiling in the United States, it still needs to be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
A crisis now appears to have been averted. President Joe Biden and Republican Party leader Kevin McCarthy reached an agreement in the House of Representatives that would continue government spending next year. Without a deal, the U.S. could not pay its tariffs by early June, which could have major consequences for the value of the dollar and the global economy.
It’s unclear whether more radical Republicans would agree to the deal. Otherwise, McCarthy needs support from Democrats. It is not yet certain whether they all want to vote for the deal.
It was unclear as of Tuesday how U.S. stock markets would react. Stocks on Wall Street are closed Monday for Memorial Day. Stock markets in London are also closed for the holiday. Trade with the rest of Europe is normal.
In terms of business figures, it was a quiet week. In the Netherlands, games company Azeri, which rose sharply last week, opens its books. The US figures come from server maker HP Enterprise, printer company Hewlett Packard, software company Salesforce and chipmaker Broadcom.