Australian shares are poised to follow the lead of the S&P 500 and Dow Jones to start the new trading week, with futures indicating modest gains at the open. Local blue-chip stocks kick off the first real week of earnings season, while US inflation data could shape taper talk.

Economic calendar and news

It will be a quiet week locally on the economic front, with new home sales, consumer inflation expectations, as well as business and consumer confidence being the only main data-points on show.While the RBA may have given thought to delaying its plans to taper its quantitative easing program, the central bank confirmed last week it will go ahead with its original plan, with fiscal stimulus seen as a more prudent measure to address the uncertainty caused by lockdowns. The RBA did clarify it intends to reserve the right to act if the economic outlook deteriorates, but figureheads expect the economy to grow strongly next year.In the US, job openings will be on show, and that follows last week solid employment report, where the biggest gain in jobs in nearly a year was well-received by the market. In total, 943,000 jobs were added to the economy in July, while the unemployment rate dipped to a pandemic low of 5.4%.Inflation data will likely be the most-watched indicator over the coming days, with forecasts suggesting the year-on-year core inflation rate for July may come in at 4.4%. With employment looking solid, inflation may take on an increasingly important role in terms of taper talk.

Stocks on watch

It time for the local reporting season to heat up, and that means a number of the ASX biggest names will hand down earnings and guidance forecasts this week.

Kicking things off on Monday will be Aurizon Holdings (ASX: AUZ), Suncorp (ASX: SUN) and Transurban (ASX: TCL).

Tuesday will see the likes of Challenger (ASX: CGF), Megaport (ASX: MP1) and James Hardie Industries (ASX: JHX) follow suit.Arguably the most-anticipated result of the week could come from Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA), which reports on Wednesday, alongside Insurance Australia Group (ASX: IAG) and Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN). The nation largest bank may be a barometer for the economic backdrop, with management likely to indicate the level of support in place for those impacted by lockdowns, as well as its outlook for the economy moving forward.The following day will see former dependable names such as AMP (ASX: AMP), AGL Energy (ASX: AGL) and Telstra (ASX: TLS) under the microscope, with each company having faced difficulties amid a changing and competitive landscape in their respective industries. Their results will also contend with earnings from Goodman Group (ASX: GMG), QBE Insurance (ASX: QBE), Downer EDI (ASX: DOW) and Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR).There are still a few high-profile names in the US set to showcase their earnings, with Thursday (US-time) the main drawcard. Pencilled in are stocks such as Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS), Airbnb (NASDAQ: ABNB), Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) and Palantir (NYSE: PLTR).With share markets at record levels, there is no shortage of stocks sitting at highs of their own, with momentum having favoured Wesfarmers (ASX: WES), Sonic Healthcare (ASX: SHL), Domino Pizza (ASX: DMP), IGO (ASX: IGO) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS), to name a few. Meanwhile, some of last week high-volume shares from the US were Kaixin Auto Holdings (NASDAQ: KXIN), which soared after disclosing merger discussions that could position it as an EV producer, chip-maker Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), and retail broker Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD).

Last but not least, it could be a rough start to the week for gold stocks, with the precious metal slumping sharply during Friday night's offshore trading session. Gold prices tumbled from about US$1,800 per ounce to a current level of about US$1,755 per ounce, with the strength of US job numbers showcasing the fifth-largest monthly gain in employment in history. Gold miners such as Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) and Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) are among those likely to see some weakness, particularly if the gold price deteriorates further.