With
Donald Trump sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, investors
will have their eyes peeled next week for more concrete details on his
policies. The UK will also be in the spotlight as the Supreme Court rules on
the government’s Brexit appeal.
Here’s
what to watch in the coming days.
Brexit ruling
In
her speech earlier this week UK prime minister Theresa May UK prime minister
Theresa May pledged to take Britain out of the EU and to seek a “bold and
ambitious” trade agreement with the bloc. But on Tuesday, the UK supreme court
will deliver its ruling on whether Mrs May can begin the process for Britain to
exit the EU without parliamentary approval.
“We look
for the court to rule that Parliament must vote to trigger Article 50, but any
rally in [the pound] should be limited and short-lived,” strategists at TD
Securities, said.
US GDP
In the
US, the latest snapshot of US GDP remains the big ticket item on investors’
agenda. The data, scheduled for Friday, are expected to show that economic
growth slowed in the last three months of the year. Growth is expected to have
cooled to 2.2 per cent in the fourth quarter, from the previous quarter when it
expanded by 3.5 per cent.
The
report is expected to show that the US consumers remained healthy and business
investment remained strong. Exports are however expected to be a drag on
growth, driven by soybeans. Third quarter growth was buoyed by exports of the
commodity after flooding in Argentina drummed up demand for soybeans.
The UK
will also publish data that are expected to show that fourth quarter growth
cooled to 0.5 per cent from the previous quarter when it climbed 0.5 per cent.
US earnings
More
than a fifth of the companies listed on the S&P 500 are slated to report
fourth quarter results next week, including Google-parent Alphabet, the second
largest company in the world. Analysts expect that earnings climbed to $7.67 a
share and estimate revenues of $20.9bn.
Microsoft,
McDonald’s, Starbucks, Intel, Comcast, Yahoo, Verizon, Ford and Caterpillar are
among the others slated to report results.
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