What to Expect in Markets This Week: Investors Watching Developments in Iran, Awaiting Jobs Report, Other Economic Data, Earnings Reports

News over the weekend brought a fresh jolt of geopolitical uncertainty for investors to digest as the first trading week of March kicks off.

On Saturday, the U.S. and Israel launched a joint military strike on Iran, and U.S. President Donald Trump called on Iranians to overthrow their government. Iran retaliated with attacks on Israel and Gulf nations. Investors will likely be watching for more developments and their impact in the coming days.

Investors will also be watching for employment data from the government’s jobs report for February on Friday. The labor market showed signs of improvement in January after a shaky end to 2025. Retail sales data for January are due Friday as well. Consumers pulled back on spending to close out last year.

Apple has teased a “big week" of new product launches, and several noteworthy tech firms are scheduled to report earnings this week, including chipmaker Broadcom and cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike. A handful of prominent retailers are also on the calendar, including warehouse retailer Costco, Target, and electronics seller Best Buy.

Read to the bottom for our calendar of key events—and one more thing.

Jobs Report Comes As Investors Watch for Momentum in Labor Market

Will U.S. employers surprise economists again in February? The jobs report release on Friday comes after surprisingly strong job gains in January potentially signaled positive developments in a labor market that was flashing warning signs at the end of 2025. U.S. employers added 130,000 jobs in the year’s first month, more than double the amount forecasted by economists. But the same report also contained downward revisions to jobs data from earlier months, showing that hiring in 2025 was weaker than expected. Investors will also be eyeing the private-sector ADP jobs report released on Wednesday.

The Census Bureau is still playing catch-up on data releases following last year’s government shutdown, so the delayed retail sales report for January arrives this week. The December data showed that retail sales stalled at the end of the year, with economists pointing to weak labor market growth as a contributing factor to slower consumer spending.

The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book will describe economic conditions around the country in advance of the central bank’s next meeting on March 17-18. Meanwhile, manufacturing and services sector survey data for February will also be in focus.

Broadcom, Marvell, and Retailer Earnings Could Highlight Corporate Calendar, Along With New Apple Products

Last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased “a big week ahead" for the iPhone maker, starting on Monday morning. The company is expected to announce a handful of new products, which could include the iPhone 17 and a lower-cost MacBook, over the course of several days, culminating in a “special Apple experience" event on Wednesday.

Following last week’s earnings from AI juggernaut Nvidia, more tech-focused earnings will also be in focus this week. Semiconductor designer Broadcom is set to release its latest quarterly results Wednesday. In December, the company projected its AI-related revenue would double in the quarter. Marvell Technology’s earnings report is set to follow Thursday.

Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike is reporting earnings during a period of pressure for software stocks, which have been rattled recently by fears of AI-driven disruption. Though some analysts see AI as an opportunity for many cybersecurity firms, including CrowdStrike. Investors will also be following reports from database software maker MongoDB, insurance software provider Guidewire, and Internet of Things firm Samsara.

Several noteworthy retailers are also on this week’s earnings calendar, including Target, which saw new CEO Michael Fiddelke take the helm last month. The retailer’s shares have been on the rise this year after slumping in 2025. Investors will also hear from Costco, which is also seeing improvement in its stock price this year after a downbeat 2025. Electronics big box chain Best Buy and discount retailer Ross Stores report this week as well.

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This Week’s Calendar

Monday, March 2

• ISM manufacturing PMI (February)
• More Data to Watch: S&P Global U.S. manufacturing PMI (February)
• Key Earnings: EchoStar (SATS), AST SpaceMobile (ASTS), MongoDB (MDB)
• Apple (AAPL) kicks off its first product launches of the year

Tuesday, March 3

• Federal Reserve Officials Speaking: New York Fed President John Williams, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari
• Key Earnings: CrowdStrike (CRWD), Ross Stores (ROST), AutoZone (AZO), Target (TGT), Viking Holdings (VIK), On Holding (ONON), Best Buy (BBY)

Wednesday, March 4

• ADP National Employment Report (February)
• More Data to Watch: S&P Global U.S. services PMI (February), ISM services PMI (February), Fed Beige Book
• Key Earnings: Broadcom (AVGO), Veeva Systems (VEEV), Brown-Forman (BF.A, BF.B), Okta (OKTA)

Thursday, March 5

• Initial jobless claims (Week ending Feb. 28)
• More Data to Watch: U.S. productivity (Q4), Import price index (January)
• Key Earnings: Costco (COST), Marvell Technology (MRVL), Kroger (KR), JD.com (JD), Burlington Stores (BURL), Samsara (IOT), Guidewire Software (GWRE), Gap (GAP)

Friday, March 6

• U.S. employment report (February)
• More Data to Watch: Consumer credit (January), Retail sales (January), Business inventories (December)
• Key Earnings: Genesco (GCO)

One More Thing

Have you given up on the idea of home ownership? Investopedia’s Terry Lane has more on a study that found renters who stop believing they’ll ever be able to own a home end up spending more and working less, while those who are planning to buy exhibit better financial discipline.

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