The week ahead: Coming clean on green

This week, the SEC will vote on finalizing a rule on climate disclosures from public companies that was initially proposed two years ago. Investors, environmentalists and Democrats support the effort to require companies to provide more information to investors regarding how extreme weather events and the transition to clean energy could impact their businesses. Although the proposal has gotten pushback from business groups, a toned-down version is expected to get the greenlight, as three of the five commissioners are Democrats.

• February's services purchasing managers' index will be released March 5.
• The Institute of Supply Management's nonmanufacturing PMI for February also will come out March 5.
• On March 6, the Bank of Canada will announce its decision on interest rates.
• Initial jobless claims will be announced March 7, followed by February's unemployment rate on March 8.

• The Council of Institutional Investors will hold its 2024 spring conference in Washington March 4-6 during which industry members and policymakers will appear.
• Rostin Behnam, chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, will testify before the House Agriculture Committee on March 6.
• Also on March 6, the SEC will consider finalizing a rule to mandate public company climate disclosures. The proposal, which was released in March 2022, garnered thousands of comments both for and against, and the final version is expected to be scaled back.
• Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify before the House Financial Services Committee on March 6 and the Senate Banking Committee on March 7 to provide his semiannual monetary policy report to Congress.
• The Investment Adviser Association will host its 2024 Investment Adviser Compliance Conference in Washington on March 6-8. Key SEC officials, including Chair Gary Gensler, are slated to speak.

• On March 5, the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System will hold its board meeting.

• The European Central Bank on March 7 will publish its decision on where to set its benchmark interest rate.

• Malaysia's Employees Provident Fund released its financial results over weekend. Local media reported that the fund was likely to issue up to 5.6% dividends to its participants, up from 5.35% in 2022. The fund was also expected to release information about the creation of a new account type that allows more flexibility for withdrawals.
• The Hong Kong government announced its 2024-25 budget on Feb. 28, revealing a $17.4 billion deficit and the easing of tightening measures for residential properties. This week, market watchers will keep an eye out for how the stock market responds, particularly as the Hang Seng index has been on a steady decline since 2020.