The week ahead

On Friday, global markets closed higher for the day, and the week, thanks to a rebound in the technology sector that helped lift the Dow Jones Industrial Average to 0.3% for the week, the S&P 500 to 0.1% and the Nasdaq to 0.2%. Tech stocks alone were up 1.3%, and financials also advanced for the week. Meanwhile, the energy sector continued to lag, declining 0.1% as the price of crude oil settled down 2.6% at $44.23 a barrel for a weekly drop of 3.9%.

Two big events on the horizon include the Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen speaking before congress, as well as the launch of earnings season with reports coming out from some of the world’s biggest banks. But until those get underway, investors are paying attention to whether the tech sector can follow through with a recent gain and whether oil prices can pull out of a slum.

Meanwhile, the Group of 20 meeting of world leaders made little impact on markets, as there was less disagreement than expected.

Bank earnings up ahead

One of the biggest events of the week will undoubtedly be the earnings reports from top US banks on Friday. The likes of J.P Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are all scheduled to report at the end of the week. The sector has recently received a boost in June after the largest US banks passed a Fed stress test on how they could withstand a market shock.

With the prospect of more Fed rate increases this year, along with balance sheet reductions expected in September, and signals that other central banks are shying away from easing measures, outlooks from banks following their respective earnings will be a key focus, especially after investment banks signaled a slump in second quarter trading activity back in June.

Uninspiring G-20 summit

Elsewhere, the G-20 summit made little headway on dominant foreign policy issues such as North Korea’s escalation of tensions. Meeting between the US President Donald Trump and the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China ended without a clear consensus about how to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

Markets swing higher on Monday

Asia-Pacific markets started the week in positive territory on Monday, buoyed by Friday’s gains in the US after solid jobs data that boosted the dollar and brightened overall market sentiment.

European markets also kick started the week on positive footing, extending gains seen across Asia. Banks and technology stocks were the best performers in early deals trading up more than half of a percent as investors regained faith in these sectors following a brief lull earlier in the month.

The oil and gas sector was also trading higher ahead of a major oil conference in Istanbul.