The Fed, May inflation, and Apple are set to lead a massive week for the stock market
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- Apple's WWDC event kicks off a big week for the stock market.
- The May CPI report, crucial for Fed decisions on rate cuts, is set to be released Wednesday.
- This week has a Fed meeting, the May PPI, initial jobless claims, and a consumer-sentiment report.
It's shaping up to be a big week for the stock market, with a slew of economic data set to be released, along with a Fed meeting and an all-important Apple event.
Here's what investors should keep an eye on this week.
Apple's WWDC event
In what's being called Apple's most important event in a decade, the company kicks off its weeklong developers conference this week.
The big event is scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m. ET, which will include a livestream keynote from Apple that should detail its next-generation iOS software platform.
Investors are eagerly anticipating Apple to announce its AI vision for the future of the iPhone, followed by the iPhone 16 launch a few months later.
You can tune into the live event here.
May inflation
The key May consumer-price-index report is set to be released Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The inflation report will help inform investors and the Federal Reserve as to when the first interest-rate cut of this cycle might occur.
Economists expect core CPI to rise 3.5% year over year, while month-over-month core CPI is expected to increase by 0.3%.
"The leading indicators all point to softer inflation as evidenced by the U Mich surveys, falling oil, tanking car prices, goods deflation, even the ISM surveys," Fundstrat's Tom Lee said Monday.
If inflation does come in lower than expected, it should lead to a more dovish Fed and increased chances of the first interest-rate cut occurring in September.
The Fed meeting
The Fed plans to announce its latest decision on interest rates on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell set to take the podium to deliver remarks at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Expectations are for the Fed to keep interest rates unchanged, though the meeting will also see the latest update to the central bank's "dot plot," which will show where officials see rates heading over the next few years.
The most important aspect of the meeting will be Powell's tone when he speaks following the meeting.
"While the Fed remains data dependent, the leading indicators point to lower inflation ahead, which in turn, points to a Fed becoming more dovish," Lee said.
Jobless claims
Initial jobless claims are set to be released Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET, giving investors a glimpse into the health of the labor market.
Expectations are for 225,000 initial jobless claims, which would be slightly lower than the 229,000 jobless claims reported last week.
A high jobless-claims number would spark concern about a deteriorating labor market, which would bolster the case for imminent rate cuts, while raising concerns of an economic slowdown.
Wholesale inflation
The producer price index will give investors another look at the state of inflation when it's released Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET.
Economists expect producer prices to have risen 0.1% month over month in June, which would be a significant slowdown from last month's reading of 0.5%.
Consumer sentiment
Finally, preliminary consumer sentiment for June will be released Friday morning at 10 a.m. ET from the University of Michigan.
Economists expect a reading of 72.3, which would represent a slight increase from last month's reading of 69.1.
Overall, Lee is feeling good about the prospects for higher stock prices this week amid the economic dataset's release.
"While we expect markets to be nervous this week, we think this will prove to be a positive overall for equities," Lee said.