A positive finish for Wall Street on Friday has set the ASX up for a strong open when trading resumes, which follows a vote of confidence from the US central bank about its ability to avoid a recession.

Economic Calendar and News

All eyes will be trained on the federal budget on Tuesday, with consumers and investors alike set to digest the state of the nation debt, the economic outlook, as well as the impact of policy announcements. In recent days the Treasurer put forward the view that inflation, while still expected to peak in the final quarter of the year just shy of 8%, will be higher for longer, which means more pain for households across the nation.

We will receive an official update on inflation on Wednesday, with third-quarter data expected to show prices increased by as much as 7% year-over-year, albeit with some potential relief as far as the pace of the increase on a quarterly basis.

Other data on watch this week includes Australian export and import prices, as well as the Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures the average change over time in prices received by local manufacturers and producers. The index has risen across each of the last eight quarters, with the yearly rate running at its highest level since the fourth quarter of 2008, at the height of the GFC.This week economic calendar in the US centres on house price data, building permits, new home sales, durable goods orders, and an all-important advanced reading for third-quarter GDP growth. Forecasts suggest the US economy managed to grow at 2% in the September quarter, however, that is coming off two successive quarters of negative growth, a trend often interpreted as a recession.At the end of the week, personal income and spending data will shed further clues on how inflation is tracking in the US, with the PCE Index, the Federal Reserve preferred gauge, due to be published on Friday, US-time.

Stocks on watch

No results will be watched more closely than those from mega-tech names like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), and Meta (NASDAQ: META). While tech stocks have been out of favour lately, earnings season provides an opportunity for the market biggest names to update investors and reset expectations for the outlook ahead. 

Business spending will be among the key watch-points for tech firms, particularly those leveraged to advertising as is the case for the parent companies of Google and Facebook. Consumer sentiment will also show up by way of sales for the likes of Apple and Amazon, while growth in the cloud computing segment is expected to remain a pressing theme across the board.

Meanwhile, heading into its own reporting call with momentum on its side, Exxon (NYSE: XOM) is one stock to watch with oil and natural gas prices remaining at elevated levels. The supermajor shares recently hit an all-time high, with the company earnings outlook and cash flow forecast expected to remain strong into the distant future. 

Unlike European oil majors, which pared back investment during the pandemic on weaker oil prices, Exxon doubled down on its oil operations, which means it arguably stands to gain the most among its peers the longer energy prices sit at current levels. Onlookers will be keen to see whether the company commits to buy back more of its own shares following a public rebuke of the industry by US President Joe Biden, who argues oil players should be investing more in production to increase their output at lower prices and aid consumers. 

Other bellwether stocks set to report in the US this week include 3M Company (NYSE: MMM), General Motors (NYSE: GM), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Mastercard (NYSE: MA), Merck (NYSE: MRK), McDonald (NYSE: MCD), Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC), and AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), to name a few.Another name with earnings on the horizon, but also in the news for more prominent reasons is Twitter (NYSE: TWTR). The social media firm is scheduled to release its results on Tuesday, US-time, hot on the heels of disappointing updates from peers like SNAP (NYSE: SNAP). However, Twitter is also approaching the deadline for its takeover by Elon Musk, which is anticipated to be wrapped up by the end of this week. The eccentric billionaire last week acknowledged he is overpaying' for Twitter, and a number of rumours are swirling that suggest he could make drastic changes to rightsize' the company personnel in order to make the business more lean. However, news emerged suggesting the US government is considering a national security review of the deal, which could scupper the acquisition at the last minute.For ASX-listed companies, the budget will no doubt play a role, but the biggest talking points may well be saved for results from ANZ (ASX: ANZ) and Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG). The former will release its full-year results for FY22 before the market opens on Thursday, while the latter is due to publish FY23 half-year results on Friday. Undoubtedly, investors will hone in on lending activity, provisions for bad debts, commentary surrounding the economic outlook, dividends, and perhaps above all else, net interest margins (NIM).Iron ore major Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) will release its September quarterly production report on Thursday, and there will be annual general meetings for Wesfarmers (ASX: WES), Woolworths (ASX: WOW), and Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC).Finally, private health insurer Medibank (ASX: MPL) is expected to exit its trading suspension from Wednesday, which comes after the company was the victim of a cyberattack, with hackers threatening to release customers' personal data.