The S&P 500 Index soared to a record high last week, continuing a bullish trend that started in April when it bottomed after Donald Trump launched his tariffs. This article looks at some of the top news events that will move the SPY, IVV, and VOO ETFs this week.

US government shutdown 

The first major catalyst that will impact the SPY, VOO, and IVV ETFs this week is any progress on the ongoing government shutdown.

It is unclear how long the shutdown will last, with the one in 2018 lasting over 18 months. With disagreements between Democrats and Republicans being major, there is a possibility that the shutdown will not end this month.

Economists expect the impact of the shutdown on the economy to depend on how long it lasts. A prolonged one will have an impact on the fourth quarter GDP, while a short one will have a limited impact.

Either way, the stock market will likely continue rising because the shutdown largely guarantees that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the coming meeting.

The odds that the bank will cut rates have remained at an elevated level, especially after ADP published a weaker-than-expected report on Wednesday. This report showed that the economy lost over 36,000 jobs in October.

Top corporate earnings will affect the SPY, IVV, and VOO ETFs

The other notable catalyst for the S&P 500 Index and its ETFs will come from corporate America, where some notable companies will start publishing their results ahead of the earnings season.

ExxonMobil and Constellation Brands will be the first major companies to release their quarterly results on Monday. Exxon, in particular, will be one key name to watch because it is the biggest energy company in the world after Saudi Aramco. 

As such, its results will provide more color about the energy industry as the price of crude oil and natural gas remains under pressure this month.

Shell, another large player in the energy sector, will publish its results on Tuesday. Like ExxonMobil, these results will show more details on the energy sector.

The other top companies to watch as they release their earnings this week are firms like PepsiCo, Delta Air Lines,  Levi Strauss, and Applied Digital.

These results will come a week before the official earnings season starts next week, with companies like JPMorgan and Wells Fargo releasing their results.

Key macroeconomic data and FedSpeak

The other notable catalyst for the S&P 500 Index and its ETFs, like the SPY and VOO, is the potential release of macroeconomic data from the US.

The official data will come out if the government shutdown ends this week. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the latest jobs numbers, which were originally set to be published on Friday.

In line with this, the stock market will react to the upcoming statements by top Federal Reserve officials. Raphael Bostic, Stephen Miran, and Michele Bowman will go first and deliver statements on Tuesday. Other top officials who will talk this week are Musalem, Barr, and Neel Kashkari.

These officials will likely provide their outlook on the upcoming Federal Reserve interest rate decision.

The other potential catalyst for the ETFs is potential corporate activity in the United States. EA Sports agreed to be acquired in a $55 billion deal last week, while BlackRock is said to be considering Align Data Centers. Therefore, there is a likelihood that the stock market will react to more activities.

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