The US market may have shed ground on Friday evening, largely led by a sharp sell-off in Amazon shares, however, ASX futures are suggesting the local market will gain ground on the open. US unemployment and RBA policy will be key this week, as will the next batch of US earnings.

Economic calendar and news

The week ahead will be dominated by the policy manoeuvring of the Reserve Bank of Australia, which convenes for its August Board meeting on Tuesday. 

In light of lockdowns that have seemingly flipped the economic recovery on its head, a growing number of economists believe the central bank may reverse course on plans announced only a month ago to begin tweaking bond-buying activity to a slightly lower level. The economic uncertainty may prompt a rethink here, so the comments within the press release will be telling. 

On Friday, the RBA will also release its Statement on Monetary Policy, which should shed further light on the Board view around the economy, the risks, and the trajectory for quantitative easing and interest rates.

Other major economic data on show includes figures on manufacturing, job advertisements, home loans, building permits, retail sales, plus exports and imports.From the United States, observers will have one eye cast over data relating to factory orders, manufacturing, and the trade balance, however, the latest employment reports will be front and centre. Economists are expecting the addition of 900,000 jobs across the US economy in July, alongside a modest drop in the unemployment rate to either 5.7% or 5.8%.

Stocks on watch

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) will be hoping to stage a recovery after last week sizeable drop. The company share price was battered 7.6% following its earnings report, which showed online sales growth moderating quite notably amid an increasing number of customers who are willing to return to physical retail stores to do their shopping.

Shares in Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) will recommence trading Monday morning after an administrative issue pushed the stock into a trading halt, and then a suspension, last week. It will also mark the first opportunity investors may have to trade on the company June quarterly report, which detailed record spodumene concentrate shipments and sales.Aspiring zero-carbon lithium producer Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX: VUL) could draw some attention over the coming days after the company entered a trading halt last Friday on the back of a binding offtake term sheet. Talk of another deal follows on the heels of the company recently-announced binding lithium-hydroxide offtake agreement with LG Energy Solution.

As the number of companies reporting ASX earnings slowly begins to ramp up, ResMed (ASX: RMD) and REA Group (ASX: REA) will headline some of the early names in focus. The duo will report their results on Thursday and Friday respectively, with each coming into reporting season only a fraction off their all-time highs. 

Likely to steal the show amid the overseas earnings season is Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), with the Chinese e-commerce giant reporting on Tuesday. Alibaba has been one of many tech stocks feeling the impact of tightening regulations and oversight from authorities in China, with the stock last week dipping to its lowest level since the height of the market crash in March, 2020.There are a number of other US stocks that may well be on the radar of analysts and investors alike over the coming days, including energy major BP (NYSE: BP), Uber (NYSE: UBER), Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU), Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) and Square (NYSE: SQ). Each of these names will report in the week ahead, representing different segments of the market.