All Eyes on Fed Meeting Next Week as Coronavirus Grips U.S.

Next week will be an important one on Wall Street, especially in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak reaching pandemic status. In addition to any possible measures to combat COVID-19, the Fed will hold its two-day meeting beginning on Tuesday, and culminate in remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell Wednesday afternoon. On top of that, there's retail and jobs data to keep an eye on, as well as earnings reports from the likes of FedEx (FDX), Lennar (LEN), and General Mills (GIS).

Below is a brief list of some key market events and a few high-profile earnings releases scheduled for the upcoming week. All earnings and economic dates listed below are tentative and subject to change. Please check with each company's respective website for official reporting dates.

On Monday, March. 16, the Empire state manufacturing index is all that's on tap as far as economic data. New Age Beverage (NBEV), Tencent Group (TME), and ZTO Express will report earnings. 

It gets busy quick though, with retail sales, industrial production, and business inventories, due out on Tuesday, March 17. There's also the the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) housing market index and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) survey, along with an earnings report from FedEx.

Wednesday, March 18, will bring housing starts and weekly crude inventories, as well as Powell's press conference at 2:30 p.m ET. The Fed meeting will wrap up today as well. On the earnings docket are reports from Five Below (FIVE), General Mills, and Guess? (GES).

Thursday, March 19, will deliver weekly jobless claims, February's leading economic indicators, and the Philly Fed business outlook survey. Accenture (ACN), Darden Restaurants (DRI), LEN, and The Children's Place (PLCE) will all step into the earnings confessional. 

It's a light end to the week, with existing home sales the only major data on tap for Friday, March 20. Tiffany (TIF) will report earnings.