Markets remain jumpy despite recent highs for stocks, and the jitters could continue in the week ahead with the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting and two crucial updates on U.S. home sales – all of which can be ultra sensitive to traders and their algorithms.
The language used in the Fed minutes is always pored over for hints on when interest rates will be allowed to rise from their historic lows, and home sales data is central to the confidence of the U.S. economy. Federal Reserve officials make a number of speeches throughout the week.
JD.com, China's second-biggest e-commerce firm behind Alibaba Group, is expected to raise as much as $1.7 billion in a U.S. initial public offering.
Earnings due this week from home improvement companies Home Depot and Lowe's will give further clues to broader economic conditions.
And new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is expected to unveil at least one new version of the company's Surface tablet as it attempts to compete with products from Apple and other rivals.
Monday sees former Fed chairman Ben Bernanke speaking in Dallas, as well as current San Francisco Fed president John Williams and Dallas Fed president Richard Fisher.
Monday also brings a conference at the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council to consider whether the asset management industry is systemically important enough to warrant supervision by the Federal Reserve.
Earnings expected Monday include results from Urban Outfitters and Campbell Soup.
Tuesday sees earnings from Home Depot, Staples, Dick's Sporting Goods and Salesforce.com, and a new product launch from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadela as he seeks to dazzle the market with at least one new version of Microsoft's Surface tablet.
Tuesday also brings speeches by Philadelphia Fed president Charles Plosser and New York Fed president William Dudley, and the annual meeting of JPMorgan Chase which will see a potentially controversial vote on its executive compensation plans.
On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will provide the minutes from the April 29-30 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee that reduced further the Fed's unconventional bond-buying stimulus measure that has helped keep interest rates near zero for more than five years.
Expect traders and their ultra high-frequency trading algorithms to twitch and gyrate – rightly or wrongly — on any nuance in the language.
Around the same time as the FOMC minutes are released, Fed chair Janet Yellen will be speaking at a graduation ceremony for New York University at Yankee Stadium.
Also expected as early as Wednesday, retail website JD.com, China's second-biggest e-commerce firm behind Alibaba Group, is expected to raise as much as $1.7 billion in a U.S. initial public offering. The whole of JD.com could be worth up to $24.6 billion, according to analysts.
Wednesday also brings earnings from retailers Target, Tiffany, Lowe's and American Eagle Outfitters, as well as an update on U.S. mortgage applications.
Thursday will bring big updates on U.S. existing home sales, leading indicators, initial jobless claims, and earnings from Hewlett-Packard, Gap, Dollar Tree and Best Buy.
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