05:23 AM EST, 02/10/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US equity investors will look out for the Trump administration's trade-related announcements this week while remaining focused on the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's Congressional testimony and the inflation data for January.

* President Donald Trump reportedly said, late Sunday, he would impose 25% tariffs on "any steel coming into the United States," adding that aluminum will be subject to new duties. Trump confirmed plans to unveil, probably by mid-week, reciprocal tariffs on countries that levy import duties on US products. The dollar was trading up 0.5% early Monday against the Japanese yen. Gold futures surged 1.4% to $2,929.40 after making a fresh record high earlier in the session.

* Powell's two rounds of testimony on Tuesday and Wednesday will offer a chance to update his thinking with fresh data and developments, according to a note from Scotiabank late Friday. Consumer price inflation will be out before Powell's second day of testimony ends, while the producer price inflation is due Thursday. Last month, Fed policymakers cited elevated inflation as one of the main factors for leaving interest rates unchanged.

* The inflation and retail sales figures will serve as a "smell test on how the consumer is holding up after a strong Q4," Derek Holt, head of capital market economics at Scotiabank, said.

* Through Friday's close, about 62% of S&P 500 had reported Q4, with earnings up about 20% year-over-year, versus the FactSet consensus as of Dec. 31 for an 11% increase, a D. A. Davidson note said late Friday. This week saw a "broadening out" of performance, with six sectors reporting growth that exceeds quarter-end expectations. Last week, financials and communications led the outperformers.

* Quarterly earnings this week include McDonald's (MCD), Coca-Cola (KO), Cisco Systems ( CSCO ) , CME Group ( CME ) , Applied Sciences (AMAT), and Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) .