The week ahead | Calamatta Cuschieri

After a lot of talk and no healthcare deal, markets this week will turn their attention back to economic data and the rest of the Trump agenda.

On Tuesday, stocks had their worst day of the year with bank stocks — a standout since the election — bearing the brunt of the selling. Treasuries, particularly at the long end of the curve, also continued their recent rally.

Take these together, and along with concerns over healthcare, questions about whether the “Trump trade” was already falling apart abounded.

This led some analysts, including Jonathan Golub at RBC Capital Markets, to note that for all of the talk about whether Donald Trump’s economic agenda is powering stock markets higher, there’s a positive global earnings and growth story markets are also reacting to.

And while questions over what is or is not powering stocks higher may continue, there is little doubt that business and consumer sentiment has been positively impacted by Trump’s election win.

This week, we’ll get two checks on consumer sentiment, with The Conference Board’s reading due out on Tuesday morning and the University of Michigan’s final check on confidence for March due out Friday.

Elsewhere on the economic calendar, a final reading on fourth quarter GDP is due out Thursday morning, and on Tuesday we’ll get an update on home prices in the US.

This article was issued by Rebecca Naudi, Trader at Calamatta Cuschieri. For more information visit, www.cc.com.mt. The information, view and opinions provided in this article is being provided solely for educational and informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice, advice concerning particular investments or investment decisions, or tax or legal advice. Calamatta Cuschieri Investment Services Ltd has not verified and consequently neither warrants the accuracy nor the veracity of any information, views or opinions appearing on this website.