Top 5 things to watch in markets in the week ahead

investing.com:

Investing.com — It’s set to be a busy week in in markets with Friday’s U.S. jobs report, testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and a European Central Bank policy meeting the main highligts. Here’s what you need to know to start your week.

1. Nonfarm payrolls

Friday’s monthly jobs report will be keenly awaited with investors trying to gauge the timing of the first interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, with bets currently targeting June amid hopes that the central bank can engineer a soft landing for the economy.

Signs of continued strength in the labor market could make it harder for investors to shrug off concerns about how a stronger-than-expected economy could reignite inflation if the Fed begins easing too soon.

Economists are expecting the economy to have added 190,000 jobs in February after January’s blowout 353,000 gain that was the largest in a year. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 3.7%, while wage growth is expected to have moderated.

2. Powell testimony

Ahead of Friday’s jobs data, investors will get a chance to hear from Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his semiannual testimony on monetary policy before a House committee on Wednesday and a Senate panel on Thursday.

Powell is expected to reiterate that policymakers will stick to a cautious approach in deciding when to begin lowering interest rates given recent data pointing to strength in the economy and persistent price pressures.

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said Friday it is too soon to predict when the central bank will be able to begin to cut its benchmark interest rate, as price pressures still exist in the U.S. economy.

3. Stock market rally

The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched their fourth straight month