Geopolitical concerns are still prominent, but earnings and retail sales data in the US will shed light on consumer health.

UK Data

Tuesday will see the release of the most recent employment report for the United Kingdom, followed the next day by the September inflation data. These reports will be the last of their kind before the impending Bank of England meeting in November.

For the majority of the year, U.K. inflation has exceeded projections and been ahead of the BoE before falling faster than anticipated in August, which caught markets off guard. Nevertheless, it remains significantly above the BoE's 2% objective.

The most recent jobs data showed that although pay growth was still brisk, the U.K. labour market was beginning to soften.

The possibility that peak rates had been reached was raised last month when the BoE narrowly decided to keep rates on hold for the first time in almost two years. However, the BoE also made it clear that it is prepared to take additional steps to control inflation if necessary.

US Data

The strength of consumer spending, which accounts for almost two-thirds of the economy, will be revealed to investors by the U.S. retail sales numbers for September, which are due on Tuesday.

Retail sales are predicted by economists to have increased 0.2% last month. A higher-than-anticipated figure would increase concerns about an inflation return and support the idea that the Federal Reserve will need to maintain higher rates for longer.

Additionally, when Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks to the Economic Club of New York on Thursday, market observers will be paying close attention to his remarks.

Also scheduled to appear this week are regional Fed presidents Patrick Harker, Thomas Barkin, Neel Kashkari, Loretta Mester, and Lorie Logan.

Earnings

The third quarter earnings season is picking up momentum, with numerous significant American corporations scheduled to release results in a period that is anticipated to show improved profit growth following a subpar first half.

After the close on Wednesday, Tesla begins reporting earnings for the megacaps. The advance in equities markets so far this year has been mostly driven by the shares of these corporations.

On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are both scheduled to report before the market opens, and numerous regional banks are also scheduled to report in the upcoming week.

Other notable companies include Netflix after Wednesday's close, Procter & Gamble before Wednesday's opening, and healthcare behemoth Johnson & Johnson, which will report before Tuesday's market open.

China Data

Market observers will be also keeping an eye on a flurry of economic data coming out of China on Wednesday for signs that the world's second-largest economy's uneven recovery is stabilising, as concerns remain regarding the impact of the country's property sector crisis and the potential need for further stimulus from Beijing.

Data on the gross domestic product are anticipated to show a moderate increase of 4.4% year over year, which is still below Beijing's annual growth objective of approximately 5%.

According to rumours, the government wants to expand its budget deficit in order to hit its 5% growth goal for this year.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)