Markets next week November 21.

On Friday, U.S. equity markets rose as a result of solid earnings announcements, but the week concluded with a loss. The S&P 500 lost 0.7%, the Nasdaq lost 1.6%, and the Dow was essentially flat for the week. Early in the week, U.S. Treasury rates dropped to their lowest point in more than a month, but they later rose when Federal Reserve governors signaled a more hawkish attitude on monetary policy.

The 10-year note’s yield dropped to 3.8% while the two-year note’s yield rose to 4.5%, marking the worst inversion of the yield curve in more than 40 years. The price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell this week, reaching an intraday low of $78 per barrel on Friday, its lowest level since late September. Recurrent COVID-19 outbreaks in China and a dimming outlook for global economy are pushing up prices.

With Thanksgiving falling on Thursday, the following week in the United States will be shorter than usual. Investors can anticipate information on October new home sales, a PMI reading from S&P Global, and the final reading of the Consumer Sentiment Index from the University of Michigan on Wednesday (MCSI).

The Federal Reserve will also make the most recent FOMC monetary policy meeting’s meeting minutes available. This week, a number of companies, including Dell Technologies, Zoom, Dollar Tree, HP, Baidu, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Nordstrom, will release their earnings reports.

The Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) most recent policy meeting was held earlier this month, and the U.S. Federal Reserve will make the meeting minutes available on Wednesday. The transcript may offer hints about how high Fed policymakers are willing to hike interest rates to keep inflation under control.

Since March, the U.S. central bank has increased the federal funds rate that serves as its benchmark by a total of 375 basis points (bps), and another 50 bps hike is anticipated in December. By year’s end, the fed funds rate would be at its highest level since 2007, shortly before the Global Financial Crisis, in the range of 4.25% to 4.5%.

In the United States, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving. It’s a day packed with sales and discounts that traditionally ushers in the holiday shopping season. Black Friday sales are frequently viewed by economists as a crucial indicator of the state of the retail industry and broader consumer confidence. This holiday season, analysts predict that consumers and retailers may suffer as a result of persistently high inflation and supply chain bottlenecks, as consumer purchasing power has decreased and merchants struggle with rising expenses and diminishing sales.