Apple, Inflation Data, and Conference Season Set the Market Agenda This Week

According to CNBC, traders will return from the Labor Day holiday to a week centered on August inflation data, Apple’s annual hardware event, and a slate of investor conferences. The August producer price index is due Thursday and the consumer price index on Friday, ahead of the Federal Reserve’s Sept. 15-16 policy meeting, with market odds pricing in roughly a 60% chance of a hike, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said his decision on policy will be heavily influenced by August inflation and that he would support holding rates if progress toward 2% continues, but would consider a hike if inflation comes in hot. Apple will hold its annual hardware launch event on Wednesday, where new CEO John Ternus will make his first appearance at the helm after replacing Tim Cook on Sept. 1. The company is expected to unveil the iPhone 18, updates to the Apple Watch and AirPods, and possibly new smart-home products, while investors are also watching for signs that Apple is entering the foldable smartphone market and for any pricing changes tied to higher memory costs. Conference season is also picking up, with Alphabet, Microsoft, Salesforce, Qnity Electronics, CrowdStrike and Nvidia scheduled to appear at Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia + Technology Conference. Cardinal Health and Johnson & Johnson are set to speak at Wells Fargo’s Healthcare Conference, while Kimberly-Clark will present at Barclays’ Global Consumer Staples Conference. Oracle and Adobe are among the notable companies reporting earnings later in the week.