Investors may not have as much to watch for this week as they expected if the federal government remains shut down.
The shutdown is likely to delay the release of several economic indicators, including data on the U.S. trade deficit, weekly initial jobless claims and wholesale inventories. But investors are still expected to hear from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and top Fed officials. Consumer sentiment data and Fed meeting minutes are also expected to come out as planned.
Key corporate earnings are still expected, including numbers from PepsiCo, Delta Air Lines, Levi Strauss, and Applied Digital.
Last week ended with the major U.S. indexes booking weekly gains; the S&P on Friday logged a third straight record close.
Read to the bottom for our calendar of key events—and one more thing.
Shutdown Leaves Government Economic Reports in Limbo
The shutdown means investors aren’t likely to see economic reports from agencies like the Labor Department and the Census Bureau. But some noteworthy economic releases are still expected.
Since the Federal Reserve isn’t funded by the congressional appropriation process—it mainly gets its money through interest charges on securities it holds—the central bank is expected to continue its schedule as planned. That includes a pre-recorded introduction from Chair Jerome Powell at Thursday’s Fed conference on community banks. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman are set to participate in a “fireside chat” at the event, while several other Fed speakers are scheduled.
The Fed is also scheduled to release the minutes of its most recent meeting, where it cut interest rates for the first time in 2025. Investors will be looking for signs of influence from the board’s newest member, Stephen Miran, who has pressed for steeper interest rate cuts. Miran is also scheduled to speak on Tuesday.
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment report and the Fed’s consumer credit report are also expected.
Earnings at Big Consumer Names Headline Corporate Events This Week
A busy slate of reports from beverage and airline giants, along with an online sales event by the world’s biggest e-commerce retailer, could offer some insights into the state of the American consumer.
Constellation Brands is set to kick off the week with its results Monday. The Corona and Modelo parent is expected to report sliding sales after cutting its outlook last month on worries about tariffs and weak demand with fewer Americans drinking alcohol. Soda and snack maker PepsiCo, scheduled to follow Thursday, could also face challenges from its Frito-Lay division and weakness in its North American sales, some Wall Street analysts have warned..
Delta Air Lines reports on Thursday, after the carrier reinstated its outlook and reported better-than-expected results. Levi’s reports Thursday after the jeans maker grew revenue in the prior quarter despite pressure from tariffs. Online retail giant Amazon (AMZN) holds its Prime Big Deal Days sales event on Oct. 7-8; Walmart (WMT) has its own event on top.
On the tech side, ChatGPT maker OpenAI is set to host a DevDay developer conference on Monday, which Wall Street analysts said could bring new features and announcements from the world’s most valuable startup.
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This Week’s Calendar
Monday, Oct. 6
- Key Earnings: Constellation Brands (STZ)
- Other Corporate Events: OpenAI’s DevDay developer conference
Tuesday, Oct. 7
- Consumer credit (August)
- Federal Reserve Officials Speaking: Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic, Fed Vice Chair Michelle Bowman, Fed Governor Stephen Miran, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari
- Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Begin
- Data Delayed by the Shutdown: U.S. trade deficit (August)
- Key Earnings: McCormick (MKC)
Wednesday, Oct. 8
- Minutes of Federal Open Market Committee’s September meeting
- Fed Officials Speaking: Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, Fed Governor Michael Barr, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem
- Key Earnings: AZZ (AZZ), Bassett Furniture (BSET)
Thursday, Oct. 9
- Fed Officials Speaking: Chair Jerome Powell, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman expected to speak at Fed’s Community Bank Conference, Fed Governor Michael Barr
- Data Delayed by the Shutdown: Initial jobless claims (Week ending Oct. 4), Wholesale inventories (August)
- Key Earnings: PepsiCo (PEP), Delta Air Lines (DAL), Levi Strauss (LEVI), Applied Digital (APLD), Tilray Brands (TLRY), Helen of Troy (HELE)
Friday, Oct. 10
- Consumer sentiment – preliminary (October)
- Data Release in Question: Monthly U.S. federal budget (September)
- Fed Officials Speaking: Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee, St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem
One More Thing
While more than half of investors say they are optimistic about the stock market, pessimism is creeping in amid worries about bubbles in AI and megacap tech stocks. Caleb Silver and Amanda Morelli have more on that and other topics in Investopedia’s annual readers’ survey.
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