Equities opened higher on Monday after reportedly strong retail sales. Shares of Amazon (AMZN) climbed above $1200 after an estimated online sales increase of 30 percent versus a year ago.
New home prices topped $400,000 for the first time in October. Sales rose 6.2 percent to an annualized pace of 685,000, crushing expectations of 6.1 percent. This jump in sales should bump up GDP estimates for the quarter.
Wednesday will bring the revised estimate of third-quarter GDP. The consensus calls for an increase to 3.3 percent from the initial 3.0 percent. Pending home sales, consumer spending, core inflation, personal income and construction spending for October will also be out this week. The November manufacturing PMI surveys from ISM and Markit are due on Friday. The flash numbers out last week showed a small decline in the U.S. surveys. November motor vehicle sales will also be released on Friday. Forecasts call for an annualized sales pace of 17.6 million, down from the post-hurricanes peak of 18.1 million in October.
OPEC will meet later this week. OPEC has bolstered oil prices over the past year after a deal with Russia to cut production. West Texas Intermediate crude closed last week at $59 a barrel, but it fell as low as $57 on Monday.
Japanese media reports North Korea is preparing for another ballistic missile test. iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense (ITA) was flat on Monday, but a test could renew interest in the sector. Shares are 3 percent off their all-time high.
Important overseas reports this week will include Canadian bank earnings and European inflation. Analysts see Eurozone consumer inflation hitting 1.6 percent and core inflation rising to 1.0 percent. The European Central Bank was dovish at its last meeting relative to expectations.
Tiffany & Co (TIF), Vmware (VMW) and Kroger (KR) will headline a light week for earnings reports.