Wall St Week Ahead: Investor focus turns to data, election, earnings

With the scope for valuations to go higher now more limited, investors said that puts a greater burden on corporate earnings to be strong in order to support stock gains. — Reuters

NEW YORK: A roaring rally in US stocks will face a gauntlet of economic data, looming political uncertainty and a corporate earnings test in coming weeks as investors navigate one of the most volatile periods of the year for equity markets.

The benchmark S&P 500 this week hit its first closing all-time high in two months after the Federal Reserve unveiled a hefty 50-basis point rate cut, kicking off the first US monetary easing cycle since 2020.