The Australian share market looks set to shake off concerns about the war unfolding in Ukraine, with futures suggesting local stocks may play catch up after US markets rallied strongly on Friday evening. The Nasdaq has risen approximately 9% from the low at the open of Thursday trading session.

Economic calendar and news

Central banks are at the centre of the economic calendar this week, however, financial markets will continue to monitor Russia invasion of Ukraine, reports of peace talks, and the subsequent fallout. 

The Reserve Bank of Australia will convene tomorrow for the March Board meeting. It is expected to touch on what is still relatively sluggish wage growth, at least compared with inflation. The Russia-Ukraine turmoil may also be cited by the central bank in its comments around the outlook for the global economy.Elsewhere, look out for data on preliminary retail sales from January, company gross profits, private sector credit, business inventories, lending activity, manufacturing and services activity for February, the Balance of Trade, and the all-important GDP reading for the final quarter of last year. 

Economists expect the Australian economy grew in the vicinity of 2.5% during 4Q21, and upwards of 3.4% compared with a year earlier. That comes amid the end of lockdowns that crippled the economy, and in the face of a modest impact expected from the widespread transmission of the Omicron variant late in the year.

In the US, a number of the same metrics will also be on show, including but not limited to manufacturing and services activity from February. The latest data on crude oil holdings and drill rigs will also be scrutinised closely following the recent surge in oil prices, and with the US and global allies preparing to release global oil reserves. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will testify before Congress twice over the coming days, and his speeches could give a better insight into whether the war in Ukraine might have any sway over the central bank plans to raise interest rates - potentially as soon as mid-March.The other big-ticket item from the US will be jobs data due Friday US-time. After a bumper January, forecasts suggest that momentum may have carried into February as well, with up to 400,000 jobs flagged as being added to the economy as the Omicron wave subsided.

Stocks on watch

Corporate action is expected to play a more subdued affair this week compared with much of the geopolitical events abroad, the data set to pour through, as well as the end of ASX reporting season.

With that said, a handful of names will wrap up February earnings today, including Zip (ASX: Z1P), which previously postponed its results, as well as Invocare (ASX: IVC), Bank of Queensland (ASX: BOQ), and Dicker Data (ASX: DDR). Amid huge competition, the prospect of rising interest rates, as well as expectations in some quarters that bad debts and margins may both be a concern for the sector, Zip results will be closely assessed. Furthermore, Zip has entered a trading halt as it prepares to reportedly raise up to $200 million in fresh funds. Some pundits believe the money may help it tie up the acquisition of ASX-listed BNPL peer Sezzle (ASX: SZL) and provide more scale throughout the US market.Over the weekend, Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) released its results, and that also meant Warren Buffett published his annual letter to shareholders. The letter, available here, touched on a number of themes, but Buffett was keen to emphasise the attraction in buying back shares in BRK amid the lack of attractive' deals out in the marketplace at this time. He also sung the praises of Apple, one of the conglomerates' four giants alongside infrastructure and insurance plays.

Meanwhile, energy and gold markets are likely to remain volatile over the coming days. OPEC+ will hold its monthly meeting on Wednesday, and Iran is reportedly inching closer to a Nuclear program deal that would allow it to resume oil exports. 

Those developments put a cap on oil prices late last week after crude oil initially surged to US$100 a barrel in light of the crisis in Ukraine. All the usual suspects will be on watch from these sectors, including Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY), Woodside Petroleum (ASX: WPL), Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD) and Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST).In terms of companies on the outer, Downer EDI (ASX: DOW), Bega Cheese (ASX: BGA) and Temple & Webster (ASX: TPW) all hit yearly lows last week, at odds with the likes of South32 (ASX: S32), which hit a 52-week high. In the US, it was defence names that made a strong run as the war broke out, with stocks like Raytheon Technologies (NYSE: RTX), Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) all trading at highs.