The S&P 500 Index has been in a strong bull run this year, and is now hovering at its highest level on record. It was trading at $6,643 on Friday, a few points below the all-time high of $6,693. 

The index reacted to several important news events last week, with a speech by Jerome Powell being the most crucial one. Other Fed officials like Beth Hammack, Austan Goolsbee, and Raphael Bostic.

The other notable news was the deal between Nvidia and OpenAI that will see them invest billions of dollars in data centers in the United States. 

The index also reacted to some notable macro data, including the latest US GDP numbers and the PCE inflation report.

This article explores the top events that will drive the S&P 500 Index and its top ETFs like VOO and SPY.

Nonfarm payrolls (NFP) data

The most important catalyst for the S&P 500 Index will come out on Friday when the US publishes the nonfarm payrolls (NFP) data.

This will be an important report because it will help the Fed to determine wether to cut interest rates or not in the next meeting. Most Fed officials have pointed to the softening labor market to justify the recent rate cuts. 

However, Fed officials have pointed to the strong inflation numbers to caution against more cuts. As such, if the jobs numbers come out softer than expected, it will raise the odds of more rate cuts. 

However, if the jobs report comes out stronger than expected, it will raise the odds that the Fed will not cut rates in October. 

In addition to the official NFP report, the S&P 500 Index will react to other jobs report, including vacancies and the ADP private payrolls data.

The index will also react to the US consumer confidence report by the Conference Board. 

Federal Reserve speakers

Some Fed officials will also talk this week and share their opinions on what the bank should do in the next meeting.

One of the most important speeches will be from Philip Jefferson because he will speak after the Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the nonfarm payrolls numbers.

Other Fed officials who will talk next week will be Austan Goolsbee, John Williams, and Alberto Musalem. Their statements will help to predict whether the bank will cut rates in the October meeting.

Top corporate earnings 

The other important S&P 500 news will be some important corporate earnings.

The top company to watch will be Nike, the $102 billion company that makes sports and athleisure apparel.

These results will come out as the stock has plunged by 60% from its highest level in 2021. Analysts expect the results to show that the revenue dropped by 5.15% YoY to $11 billion, while its earnings per share (EPS) fell from 70 cents to 27 cents.

The other companies to watch next week will be Paychex, Lamb Weston, Jefferies, and Carnival.

Most importantly, investors will react to the potential leveraged buyout of EA Sports by a group of private equity companies, including Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners and Silverlake Capital. The buyout could lead to interest for other companies in the gaming industry, like Roblox and Take Two Interactive.

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