PANews, April 18th - Over the past week, market expectations for a negotiated end to the conflict between the US and Iran continued to rise. On Friday, after the Iranian Foreign Minister announced the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, market risk appetite surged further. With the temporary ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran about to expire, the Middle East geopolitical situation remains a core variable for the market. Market attention will also be focused on next week's Federal Reserve Chair nominee Warsh's confirmation hearing, as well as US retail sales data and preliminary April manufacturing PMI figures for Europe and the US. The following are the key points the market will be focusing on in the coming week:

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will deliver a speech at 23:00 on Monday.

Tuesday, 8:30 PM: US March retail sales (month-on-month).

At 22:00 on Tuesday, the US February Business Inventories (MoM) and the US March Pending Home Sales Index (MoM) will be released.

On Tuesday at 22:00, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee held a hearing on Kevin Warsh's nomination as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

At 22:30 on Wednesday, the U.S. EIA crude oil inventory data for the week ending April 17 will be released.

At 8:30 PM on Thursday, the number of initial jobless claims in the United States for the week ending April 18 will be released.

At 21:45 on Thursday, the preliminary reading of the US S&P Global Manufacturing/Services PMI for April will be released.

At 22:00 on Friday, the final reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for April and the final reading of the one-year inflation rate expectations will be released.

The U.S. retail sales data for March, scheduled for release next Tuesday, may be one of the few bright spots among the economic data to be released next week. The data will demonstrate the extent to which soaring energy prices triggered by the Middle East wars have dampened consumer spending, which was already weak before the conflict broke out.

JPMorgan Chase no longer predicts that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in 2026.

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