Key takeaways:

• China COVID approach sparks growing unrest, with implications for a number of sectors

• G7 nations debate price cap levels for Russian oil exports

• Australian inflation data likely to show prices accelerated in October

Futures suggest the ASX faces a soft start to the new trading week as mixed results in the US, and a growing COVID outbreak in China halt recent momentum.

Economic Calendar and News

Australian inflation data is set to be published on Wednesday. Forecasts suggest the month of October saw consumer prices rise by 7.6% year-over-year. 

If that figure proves to be correct, it will represent an acceleration in inflation, with the September reading clocking in at 7.2%. Meanwhile, trimmed mean inflation, which excludes volatile price categories, is expected to increase 5.7%, also up from a reading of 5.4% the month prior.

The increase is likely to be driven by two major events. First, the floods that occurred across the course of October. Secondly, the reversal of the fuel excise cut. 

Expect local inflation figures to hold sway over next week final RBA policy meeting for the year, albeit financial markets indicate a 25 basis point rate hike is locked in.

Beyond inflation data, observers will also see an update on home prices from November. The property market is likely to have extended its slump last month as rates continue to increase.Overseas, US jobs figures arrive at an important time. The Federal Reserve will be scrutinising the data closely to shape monetary policy. Consensus figures suggest roughly 200,000 jobs were added to the US economy. A strong number is believed to be supportive of a more aggressive rate hike at next month Fed Board meeting. Elsewhere, there will be fresh economic readings on manufacturing activity, job openings, and consumer spending. Part of the consumer spending release will focus on inflation. At the same time, all of this data will be accompanied by several speeches from Fed Reserve figureheads. 

The most high profile speech will be handed down by Jerome Powell. The Chair of the world largest central bank will discuss the labour market and the economy. It is expected that Powell will recommit the bank willingness to do whatever is necessary to quash inflation, particularly as the jobs market has shown only modest signs of cooling. 

Stocks on watch

A host of stocks could feel the effects of the growing COVID outbreak in China, which has sparked levels of civil dissent not seen in China under the current administration. Daily new cases have hit all-time highs, with angst growing about lockdowns and other restrictions.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is one of the names affected by unrest among employees at the factory of its supplier Foxconn. That follows fighting between employees and security, and reports that thousands of Foxconn employees have quit. The Foxconn factory is Apple most important production facility, home to its premium iPhones. Recent developments could see production affected by more than 30% this month. It also comes at a time where iPhone 14 Pro shortages were reported across large parts of the US on Black Friday.The growing uncertainty in China is something that could also impact commodity stocks. This includes the iron ore titans such as Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG), BHP (ASX: BHP), and Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), as well as companies spanning copper and energy.Late last week the impact was also being felt by lithium stocks, with the likes of Allkem (ASX: AKE) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) sold down sharply on heavy volumes. However, these stocks will also remain in focus this week as Chinese EV manufacturers report monthly deliveries. Nio (NYSE: NIO), Xpeng (NYSE: XPEV), and Li Auto (NASDAQ: LI) will each report data on Thursday. Those figures could shed light on any slowdown in EV sales, and in turn, demand for lithium.For energy stocks, there is also downward pressure as lower oil demand out of China drags on crude oil prices. West Texas Intermediate oil futures declined for a third week in a row, finishing last week a touch over US$75 a barrel. This is a headwind for stocks like Woodside Energy Group (ASX: WDS), Santos (ASX: STO), Beach Energy (ASX: BPT), Exxon (NYSE: XOM), BP (NYSE: BP), and Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), among others.

The above energy names will also be monitoring the actions of EU government representatives. G7 officials will meet this week to discuss a proposal regarding a cap on Russian oil prices. Officials were at loggerheads last week, with disagreements on the level to cap prices without disrupting the global oil market. Currently, the cap is scheduled to commence December 5. It would force shipping companies and insurance firms to sell Russian oil exports below a G7-imposed price cap.

On another note, consumer stocks may provide updates over the coming days. Estimates from Adobe suggest that consumers spent US$9.1 billion via online shopping during this year Black Friday event. One of the reported winners has been the buy-now pay-later segment, where payments of this type increased by 78%. That could be favourable to Zip (ASX: ZIP), Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM), and Afterpay owner Square (ASX: SQ2).Other names on watch include Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA), which is trading at a 52-week high, as well as US stocks reporting earnings. That means companies like Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), Pinduoduo (NASDAQ: PDD), and Crowdstrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) are among the stocks that could be in the spotlight.