The S&P 500 Index retreated sharply last week, moving from the year-to-date high of $6,915 to a low of $6,640 as concerns about the AI industry remained. Its top exchange-traded funds (ETF) like the SPY and VOO, also tumbled  

The stock market crash happened as the recent rally took a breather and as investors remained concerned about valuations and the AI bubble in the market.

Crucially, the index plunged as market participants reacted to the recent earnings by companies like Palantir and AMD, which are some of the top players in the AI space globally.

S&P 500 Index to react to key earnings 

The S&P 500 Index has done well this year as companies have continued to publish strong financial results.

Data compiled by FactSet shows that 91% of all companies in the S&P 500 Index have published their financial results. 

The blended earnings growth in this period has been 13.1%, representing the fourth consecutive quarter in which the US experienced a double-digit growth rate.

Earnings growth has been spread across all segments, including popular sectors like technology, retail, and consumer.

Looking ahead, the index will react to earnings from some key American companies. Occidental, the giant energy giant valued at over $40 billion, will publish its results on Monday. AST Spacemobile and Rocket Lab will release their numbers on the same day.

The other top companies to watch this week will be Applied Materials, Nebius, Oklo, Cisco, Transdigm, Disney, Nu Holdings, and Circle will publish their earnings.

While all these are large companies, their impact on the S&P 500 Index will be minimal. The only company yet to release its numbers that will have a major impact on the S&P 500 Index is Nvidia, which will release its results lately this month.

READ MORE: Palantir stock: is it okay to ignore its P/E multiple?

US government shutdown 

The other major catalyst that will impact the S&P 500 Index is any progress on the government shutdown, which has gone on for months  

This shutdown is not seeing any signs of ending, with the two sides maintaining their hard positions. There are signs that most Americans are blaming Donald Trump and the Republicans for this shutdown.

Data compiled by Polymarket shows that most traders expect the shutdown to continue for a while. Most of them expect it to continue through November 16 this year.

Signs that the shutdown is ending will be bullish for the stock market as it means that the statistics agencies will start publishing key macro data.

Federal Reserve speakers

The other key catalyst for the S&P 500 Index this week will be a statement by top Federal Reserve officials, who will provide more information about the next meeting.

Anna Paulson, Raphael Bostic, and Stephen Moran will be the key Fed officials to watch as they speak on Wednesday.

Miran, who joined the Fed recently, has maintained a highly dovish outlook as he hinted that the bank should deliver more cuts this year. He is said to be eying the Fed Chair post. Federal Reserve’s Beth Hammack and Jeff Schmid will also talk.

In line with this, the Bureau of Labor Statistics may decide to publish the latest consumer price index data this week as originally scheduled. A report showing that inflation dropped in October will be bullish for the index.

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