The Week Ahead: 5 Things to Watch on the Economic Calendar

In the week ahead, global financial markets will focus on U.S. President Donald Trump's address to Congress on Tuesday for further details on his promises of tax reform, deregulation and infrastructure spending.

This week is also peppered with a handful of Fed appearances, most importantly Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Friday, as investors look for further hints on the timing of the next U.S. rate hike.

In addition, market players will keep an eye out on a revised reading of fourth-quarter U.S. growth data to gauge the strength of the economy.

Meanwhile, in the U.K., traders will focus on a trio of reports on activity in the manufacturing, construction and services sectors for further indications on the continued effect that the Brexit decision is having on the economy.

Elsewhere, investors will await monthly inflation data out of the euro zone to assess the timing of when the European Central Bank will start unwinding its massive asset purchase program.

Ahead of the coming week, here is the compiled list of the five biggest events on the economic calendar that are most likely to affect the markets.

1.President Donald Trump address to Congress. (Tuesday)
President Donald Trump will make his first major address to Congress at 9:00PM ET on Tuesday. Investors are hopeful he will shed light on his economic agenda, most notably tax reform.
Beyond tax reform, investors will be eager to learn more about Trump's plans for repealing the Affordable Care Act, reducing regulations on businesses and increasing infrastructure spending.

2.U.S. revised Q4 Growth Data (Tuesday)

The U.S. is to release revised figures on fourth-quarter economic growth at 8:30AM ET (13:30GMT) Tuesday. The data is expected to show that the economy expanded at a healthy 2.1% annual rate in the final three months of 2016, upwardly revised from a preliminary estimate of 1.9%.

Besides the GDP report, this week's calendar also features U.S. data on durable goods orders and pending home sales on Monday, consumer confidence on Tuesday, personal consumption expenditures and ISM manufacturing on Wednesday, weekly jobless claims on Thursday followed by the ISM non-manufacturing survey on Friday.

3.U.K. February PMI's (Wednesday)

The U.K. will release readings on February manufacturing sector activity on Wednesday, followed by a report on the construction sector on Thursday and the service sector on Friday.

The manufacturing PMI is forecast to inch down to 55.5 from 55.9 a month earlier, construction activity is expected to improve slightly to 52.4 from 52.2, while a survey on Britain's giant services sector is forecast to dip to 54.2 from 54.5 last month.

4. Euro Zone Flash February Inflation Data (Thursday)
The euro zone will publish flash inflation figures for February at 10:00GMT (5:00AM ET) Thursday.

The consensus forecast is that the report will show consumer prices rose 2%, reaching the European Central Bank's target and accelerating from a gain of 1.8% in January. Core prices are expected to increase 0.9%, unchanged from the prior month.

5. Fed Chair Yellen Speaks (Friday)

At 1:00PM ET Friday, Fed Chair Janet Yellen will speak on the economy to the Executives Club of Chicago.

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