Economic Calendar Packed with Releases Amid MOPEX Week
The economic calendar for today is packed with several releases, although none are expected to move the market as significantly as last week's CPI, PPI, or Retail Sales and Michigan data. The first major report of the day will be the Weekly ADP Employment Change at 8:15AM ET, followed by New York Fed Services Activity, Import and Export Prices, Housing Starts, and Building Permits at 8:30AM ET.
Redbook Retail Sales will follow at 8:55AM ET, with Industrial Production, Manufacturing Production, and Capacity Utilization at 9:15AM ET before Pending Home Sales at 10:00AM ET. While individual reports may not have a major impact, the cumulative message from today's data could still influence the market's assessment of economic growth.
Market structure will likely be a significant factor as we move deeper into MOPEX week. Monthly equity and index options expire on Friday, which can lead to changes in dealer hedging requirements and flows across mega-cap technology stocks. This means that today's moderate economic calendar could be particularly interesting, with options positioning, technical levels, Treasury yields, and mega-cap tech stock performance potentially having a greater influence on intraday price action.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is currently trading around $769.75 as markets continue through MOPEX week following some early weakness from recent highs. If buyers defend this level, a move toward $775.75 may develop, followed by $781.75 if momentum builds. Sustained strength above $787.75 would improve the short-term structure and put buyers back in control.
The Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ) is currently trading around $722.00 and has pulled back as several major technology names experience renewed selling pressure. If buyers defend this pivot, price may advance toward $729.00, followed by $736.00 if momentum strengthens. Sustained strength above $743.00 would indicate improving institutional demand across technology.
Several mega-cap tech stocks, including Apple Inc. (AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA), Alphabet Inc Class A (GOOGL), Meta Platforms Inc. (META), and Tesla Inc. (TSLA) are also being watched for their technical levels and potential impact on the market.