What to Expect in the Week Ahead (Fed Rate Decision, Earnings from Accenture, Jabil, Kroger, CarMax)

• Kevin Warsh debuts as Fed Chair at this week's FOMC meeting; rates expected unchanged but the dot plot may shift to no cuts in 2026.

• May's cooler CPI gives officials breathing room, but import prices and gasoline costs remain elevated amid the Iran war's oil shock.

• Key Earnings: Accenture, Jabil, CarMax, Kroger, Quantum.

📆Earnings & Economic Calendar

Week overview

This week's key earnings: $Accenture (ACN.US)$ , $Jabil (JBL.US)$ , $CarMax (KMX.US)$ , $The Kroger Co. (KR.US)$ , and $Quantum (QMCO.US)$ .

The undisputed highlight of the week is the FOMC rate decision on Wednesday—Chair Kevin. Markets will also parse retail sales for signs of consumer strain, housing data for affordability headwinds, and regional manufacturing surveys for the factory sector's resilience.

Key economic events: FOMC Rate Decision & Press Conference (Wed), Retail Sales (Wed), Initial Jobless Claims (Thu), Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index (Thu).

Monday (Jun. 15)

$Quantum (QMCO.US)$ reports post-market. Investors will focus on demand trends for data storage solutions amid the AI infrastructure buildout.

Tuesday (Jun. 16)

The FOMC begins its two-day meeting.

Wednesday (Jun. 17)

$Jabil (JBL.US)$ reports pre-market. Investors will watch for updates on AI-related manufacturing demand and supply-chain dynamics.

$CarMax (KMX.US)$ reports pre-market. Used-car market conditions and consumer financing trends will be in focus as higher fuel costs pressure household budgets.

Data: Retail Sales—headline expected +0.5%, matching April's pace. Higher gasoline prices (up 7.0% in May) are absorbing a larger share of consumer budgets. The control group is expected to slow to +0.3% from +0.5%, suggesting underlying spending is softening once adjusted for fuel. Auto sales rose just 1.0%, pointing to a modest contribution. The silver lining: grocery inflation moderated and many goods prices declined, suggesting firms are finding it harder to pass through cost increases.

FOMC Rate Decision—the committee is widely expected to hold rates at 3.50%–3.75%. The key question: which Warsh shows up—the recent advocate of lower rates, or the inflation hawk from the GFC era? Bloomberg Economics expects Warsh to avoid explicit guidance on the rate path, give a two-sided interpretation of recent data, and potentially announce a review of the Fed's communications framework. The dot plot is expected to shift the median to no cuts this year (from one 25-bp cut in March). Even so, Bloomberg Economics still sees scope for a 25-bp cut in Q4 as the inflationary effects of the Iran war gradually fade.

Thursday (Jun. 18)

$Accenture (ACN.US)$ reports pre-market. Focus will be on AI consulting demand, enterprise technology spending trends, and updated full-year guidance amid macro uncertainty.

$The Kroger Co. (KR.US)$ reports pre-market. Grocery-price moderation and consumer trade-down behavior will be key themes as fuel costs squeeze household budgets.

Data: Initial Jobless Claims—expected 227k (vs. 229k prior), continuing to run below year-earlier levels. Combined with May's stronger-than-expected payrolls, the data reinforce continued labor-market momentum.

Friday (Jun. 19)

No major economic data releases or notable earnings scheduled.

🎩Heat List

Wall Street navigates a backdrop where cooling core inflation offers relief but the Fed's hawkish dot-plot shift and persistently elevated energy prices keep uncertainty elevated. The market continues to price in an interest-rate increase before year-end, though Bloomberg Intelligence believes this is unlikely and expects the Fed to remain on hold into 2027.

Last week, the most actively traded stocks in the US market included $Intel (INTC.US)$ , $Palantir (PLTR.US)$ , $Micron Technology (MU.US)$ , $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ , $AST SpaceMobile (ASTS.US)$ , $Oracle (ORCL.US)$ , $SoFi Technologies (SOFI.US)$ , $Robinhood (HOOD.US)$ , $Rocket Lab (RKLB.US)$ , and $Ondas (ONDS.US)$ .

$Intel (INTC.US)$ surged 25.61% to crown the heat list, the stock's best weekly performance in years. The rally was likely fueled by renewed optimism around its foundry turnaround and potential AI chip partnerships.

$Micron Technology (MU.US)$ climbed 13.61%, riding the AI-driven memory demand wave as hyperscale data-center buildouts accelerate globally.

$Robinhood (HOOD.US)$ rallied 13.00% as elevated trading volumes across equities, options, and crypto continue to benefit the retail brokerage platform.

$Oracle (ORCL.US)$ fell 13.83%, the biggest decliner on the list, as investors took profits following the stock's cloud-driven rally earlier in the quarter.

$AST SpaceMobile (ASTS.US)$ dropped 11.96%, pulling back after its strong run, while $Ondas (ONDS.US)$ declined 10.55%.

$Palantir (PLTR.US)$ slipped 5.56% amid broader valuation concerns in the AI software space, and $Rocket Lab (RKLB.US)$ gave back 6.99%.

$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ was essentially flat at +0.04%, consolidating ahead of a week dominated by macro catalysts rather than mega-cap tech earnings. The AI bellwether remains the market's reference point as energy and materials stocks join the tech-led rally.

$SoFi Technologies (SOFI.US)$ edged up 3.43%, benefiting from expectations of continued fintech adoption and expanding product margins.

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