The earnings season enters one of its busiest phases in the coming week, with Apple and Microsoft reporting quarterly results, while central banks in the US and Canada will be deciding on monetary policy. Elsewhere, flash PMI surveys for the US, UK, Eurozone, Japan and Australia will be keenly watched, as well as Q4 GDP updates from the US, Germany, France, Spain, South Korea, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Other key data to follow include US PCE prices, personal income and outlays; Eurozone business survey; China industrial profits; and Australia and New Zealand Q4 inflation data.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Taiwan inched up to 3.72 percent in December of 2021 from 3.71 percent in the previous month, which was the lowest level since April. The number of unemployed persons increased by 1 thousand to 443 thousand and the number of employed dropped by 5 thousand to 11.459 million. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate edged higher to 59.08 percent from 59.06 percent in November.

The US stocks closed sharply lower on Friday amid disappointing earnings results from companies that soared in the pandemic and as investors anticipate a tighter monetary policy. The Dow Jones lost as much as 450 points, the S&P dropped 1.9% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite plunged 2.7%. Netflix was the main drag falling 23% after the company's subscriber outlook missed estimates due to the rise in streaming competition, also hitting its competitors with Disney+ streaming falling 7%. On the other hand, Peloton shares jumped 10%, rebounding from a 23.9% fall yesterday. On the week, the Nasdaq Composite posted its worst performance since October 2020, after dropping 7.6%. Also, both the Dow and the S&P 500 extended losses for a 3rd straight week, with a fall of 4.6% and 5.7%, respectively. Next week, the focus remains on the Fed monetary policy decision and further earnings reports from big tech companies which investors fear could disappoint.

US natural gas futures jumped towards $4 per million British thermal units after hitting an over two-week low of $3.78 on January 20th, underpinned by expectations of record demand and tight supplies. Weather forecasts showed colder temperatures for the fortnight ahead, which is expected to cause domestic inventories to stand below the 5-year average for the first time since mid-December, as utilities draw larger-than-normal amounts of gas from storage. Meanwhile, a cold snap in Texas and other producing states has frozen wells and other equipment, curtailing output levels to their lowest in four months. Production in the lower 48 states averaged 95.3 bcfd so far this month, down from a record 97.6 bcfd in December.

European equity markets closed deeply in the red on Friday, with Frankfurt’s DAX and the pan-European Stoxx 600 shedding about 2% each, dragged down by automakers and banks stocks. Energy stocks were also under pressure as crude prices fell from recent seven-year highs. Among single stocks, wind turbine manufacturer Siemens Gamesa slipped more than 10% after cutting its revenue guidance for 2022, and its owner Siemens Energy plunged 16%. On the economic data front, Britain's retail sales slumped 3.7% in December, the largest decline since last January and compared with forecasts of a 0.6% drop. For the week, European shares dropped 1.5% as the prospect of tighter monetary policy across the globe this year and tensions between the US and Russia weighed on sentiment.

The consumer confidence indicator in the Euro Area was little-changed at -8.5 in January 2022, the lowest level since March 2021 and compared with market expectations of -9.0, a preliminary estimate showed. In the European Union as a whole, consumer sentiment fell by 0.4 points to -10.0.