Investors eager for delayed data to shed light on US economy

A host of delayed employment, inflation and other data in the coming week will give a long-anticipated view of the US economy that could help guide markets into year-end.

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The S&P 500 ended on Thursday at an all-time closing high, as a third-straight strong year for the benchmark US stock index is nearly in the books. A dovish Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday cheered investors, although a disappointing report from cloud-computing giant Oracle weighed on the heavyweight tech sector on Thursday.

Investors have been lacking the typical evidence they use to gauge the health of the economy because a 43-day federal government shutdown postponed or canceled key reports, and some of those delayed releases arrive in the week ahead. The US jobs report for November is due Tuesday, while the monthly consumer price index, which is closely watched for inflation trends, is out on Thursday.

“There has been a lack of clarity for investors,” said Jim Baird, chief investment officer with Plante Moran Financial Advisors. “Strong corporate earnings certainly helped to support the markets. The Fed and anticipated rate cuts helped to provide a little bit of a boost. But now it’s time to turn our attention back to the underlying economy and what path we're on." A divided Fed cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point on Wednesday for a third-straight meeting as it seeks to shore up a weakening labour market.

But the central bank signaled borrowing costs are unlikely to drop further in the near term as it awaits more economic clarity.