The catalyst calendar — what to watch each week

The catalysts that move markets are mostly known in advance. The work is knowing which ones matter to you.

The weekly rhythm

• Sunday night: futures open at 6pm ET. Asian and European tape sets the tone for Monday open. Geopolitical news that broke over the weekend gets priced in here.
• Monday morning: re-pricing of weekend news. Low conviction. Most pros sit out.
• Tuesday through Thursday: the meat of the week. Most economic releases (CPI, PPI, retail sales, jobless claims), most earnings on a typical week.
• Friday morning: jobs report on the first Friday of the month — the biggest single macro release.
• Friday afternoon: liquidity thins. Avoid initiating positions in the last 90 minutes unless there's a catalyst.

The recurring biggies

| Release | Frequency | Typical time | |---|---|---| | Non-Farm Payrolls (jobs) | First Friday of month | 8:30am ET | | CPI (inflation) | Mid-month | 8:30am ET | | FOMC decision | 8 per year | 2:00pm ET | | FOMC minutes | 3 weeks after each meeting | 2:00pm ET | | Earnings season | 4 windows/year, 6 weeks each | Before/after market | | OPEX (options expiration) | 3rd Friday monthly, with quarterlies stronger | Friday close |

Earnings season specifically

Six weeks of dense reports starting ~3 weeks after each quarter ends:

• Q1 earnings: starts mid-April, ends late May.
• Q2 earnings: starts mid-July, ends late August.
• Q3 earnings: starts mid-October, ends late November.
• Q4 earnings: starts mid-January, ends late February.

Inside each window, the tape is dominated by the largest 100 names reporting. Outside the windows, individual catalysts move individual stocks but the broader tape is driven by macro.

Where to find the calendar

• On this site: the catalyst calendar surfaces upcoming earnings and macro events.
• External: investor.gov, finviz.com/calendar, the Fed's own calendar at federalreserve.gov.

What to do with this lesson

Save the next two weeks of major catalysts in your calendar app. Mark them with a color you'll notice. Before initiating ANY trade, glance at the next 7 days — if there's a major event coming that affects your name or the broader tape, you adjust sizing or hold off. This single habit avoids more bad trades than any chart skill.