The situation in the Middle East and the Fed's forecast: what investors need to know this week

Moderate growth on Wall Street paused after an Israeli airstrike on Iran triggered a rise in oil prices and a decline in stock prices at the end of the first full trading week of June. At the end of the week, the S&P 500 Index was down 0.6%, the Nasdaq Composite was down 1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.3%.
This week, investor attention will be focused on the rising tensions in the Middle East, especially Iran's response, convinced Yahoo Finance. Key among the scheduled events is the U.S. Federal Reserve's interest rate decision and the release of its quarterly Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), which reflects Fed members' expectations about the future trajectory of rates. Rate decisions will also be made by the central banks of the UK, Switzerland, Turkey, Japan and China.
The corporate reporting calendar is relatively empty this week, with Lennar, Accenture, CarMax and Kroger reporting quarterly results. On June 19, stock markets in the U.S. will be closed in connection with the celebration of Juneteenth.
On Monday, June 16, China's National Bureau of Statistics released data on house price trends, industrial production and retail sales for May, indicators of the health of the world's second-largest economy. The value of new buildings fell for the 23rd consecutive month, now down 3.5% year-on-year, the slowest pace since April 2024, reflecting Beijing's efforts to ease the effects of a prolonged real estate market crisis, wrote Trading Economics. China's industrial production growth slowed to 5.8% from 6.1% in April and missed the market consensus of 5.9%. May's growth rate was the slowest since November 2024 as Washington's trade pressures hurt overseas demand for Chinese products, the publication notes. Meanwhile, the country's retail sales rose 6.4%, beating market expectations of 5%. According to data from Trading Economics, that's the fastest pace since December 2023, helped by higher holiday spending for Labor Day in early May and the Dragon Boat Festival later in the month.
Lennar will release financial results for the second quarter of FY 2025.
On Tuesday, June 17, the U.S. Census Bureau will release retail sales data for May. Wall Street expects a 0.7% decline from the previous month after a 0.1% rise in April, wrote Barron's, citing a Bloomberg consensus forecast.
The Bank of Japan will announce a decision on the interest rate. The market expects the regulator to keep it at 0.5%. At the same time, investors will be watching for any changes in the pace of reduction of Japanese government bond purchases, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Jabil will disclose last quarter's earnings data.
On Wednesday, June 18, the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce its monetary policy decision. Wall Street is confident that the interest rate will remain unchanged at 4.25-4.5%. The regulator will also release its quarterly Summary of Economic Projections (SEP). The March survey predicted two rate cuts of 0.25 percentage point (p.p.) before the end of 2025. Investors will pay most attention to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's press conference. In recent months, Powell has maintained a wait-and-see stance. He has repeatedly said that the regulator is in no hurry to adjust interest rates and will react when there is more clarity, reminds Barron's.
On Thursday, June 19, stock markets in the United States will be closed in observance of National Independence Day, a holiday commemorating the declaration of the freedom of slaves in Texas in 1865.
The Bank of England is expected to leave its key interest rate at 4.25%. Investors will be looking at the distribution of votes by the regulator's top executives and any statements about when rates might fall again, according to the WSJ.
The Swiss Central Bank will also decide on the interest rate. The consensus forecast suggests that the regulator will lower it by 25 bps to zero. There is also a possibility that the bank will lower the rate to negative again due to recent weak inflation data and a strong franc, notes the WSJ.
An interest rate decision is also due to be announced by Turkey's Central Bank.
On Friday, June 20, the People's Bank of China will set the benchmark lending rate (LPR). After cutting the rate in May, the regulator is likely to announce that the LPR - a benchmark for many households, corporations and mortgages - will remain unchanged, write WSJ.
Accenture, CarMax and Kroger will disclose their quarterly financial statements.