US markets hit record highs on Friday evening as the Federal Reserve sought to reassure investors any interest rate hike is still a long way off, even if it does begin to taper its QE program by year end. In turn, Australian futures show optimism to start a busy trading week.

Economic calendar and news

The local economic calendar is full of news this week, although the gloss might be taken off some of the numbers on account of the time that has elapsed since. 

The most high-profile data-point will be GDP growth from the second quarter. While consensus figures suggest a small level of growth against the prior quarter, some economists are tipping a contraction. Nonetheless, given lockdowns have plagued the east coast since June, the number published is likely to prove a poor reflection of the true status of the economy that has since deteriorated quite notably. Other data to be front and centre this week will include business inventories and company gross profits for the second quarter, building permits and private sector credit for July, the Balance of Trade from July, as well as a final reading on manufacturing and services activity for August.From abroad, US employment data is the next major item, and economists predict more than 650,000 jobs may have been added to the economy throughout August. In addition, the unemployment rate is tipped to edge lower to 5.2%, which would be another vote of confidence for the Federal Reserve as it looks to loosen monetary policy. 

Stocks on watch

A number of companies will close out reporting season at the start of this new trading week, with Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) the most high-profile name among the bunch. Despite the recent rout in iron ore prices, the iron ore major has more than doubled its final dividend to a record $2.11 per share. 

That move comes after a strong reporting period for the company, where revenue surged 74% to US$22.3 billion, and net profits leapt 117% to US$10.3 billion. While costs edged higher by 8% in the period, these were dwarfed by elevated iron ore prices, with the company realising an average iron ore price of US$135 per tonne across the financial year.

Elsewhere, funeral operator Invocare (ASX: IVC), ecommerce retailer Temple & Webster (ASX: TPW) and casino operator Crown Resorts (ASX: CWN) have all handed down earnings today, while Altium (ASX: ALU) also joined the fold after recently deferring its report by a week.

Energy shares including majors like Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and BP (NYSE: BP) might be subject to the whims of any potential ructions in the oil market this week, with Hurricane Ida hitting the US coast in recent hours. At the end of last week, energy firms had temporarily shut down production in the Gulf of Mexico, and refineries in Louisiana were also on watch. Benchmark crude prices rose over 10% last week in response to said concerns, which was the largest gain for the US energy market in over 14 months.

Gold prices firmed on Friday evening after the Federal Reserve distanced itself from any plans to raise interest rates in the near-term. That move could be a positive catalyst for the likes of Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST), Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN), Newcrest Mining (ASX: NCM) and other producers in the gold space, which often closely track prices of the precious metal.

US buy-now pay-later company Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) announced a partnership with Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) on Friday night, with the payment instalments business selected as a processor for transactions valued over US$50 across the retail giant US shopping platform. The stock soared more than 30% in after-hours trade, and may attract interest at the start of the new trading week.

With US markets notching another record, it was hardly a surprise to see a host of names chalk up all-time highs, including Google parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), semiconductor firms Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) and ASML Holding (NASDAQ: ASML), plus software giant Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE).