06:52 AM EDT, 10/14/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity investors expect earnings this week will build on the optimistic start last Friday from large-cap banks while keeping a close watch on the escalating crisis in the Middle East and signals from Federal Reserve officials on the path ahead for policy.

* Quarterly earnings due this week include Bank of America ( BAC ) , Goldman Sachs ( GS ) , Citigroup ( C ) , Morgan Stanley (MS), ASML Holdings (ASML), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company ( TSM ) , and American Express ( AXP ) .

* The US will send an advanced anti-missile system -- and US troops to operate it -- to Israel "to help bolster Israel's air defenses following Iran's unprecedented attacks against Israel on April 13 and again on October 1," CNN reported Sunday, citing the Pentagon. Iran informed the US it would retaliate against any new attack by Israel, a source in Tehran told CNN.

* Top officials on the speaking circuit this week include Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, Fed Governor Christopher Waller, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee.

* Key indicators this week will be retail sales and industrial production for September and weekly initial jobless claims. Retail sales will likely see a "solid gain," Scotiabank said late Friday. It added that claims will probably spike again due to hurricane effects.

* Over the weekend, China outlined plans to revive the housing slump, a report from Euro News said. Finance Minister Lan Fo'an stated that China would support local governments with their debts and purchase unsold homes but did not specify the package size or announce new measures to boost consumption further. The lack of detail will likely undermine investor confidence in Chinese stocks, including those listed in the US, which have been gaining recently on expectations for increased fiscal stimulus.