Week ahead: Fed decision, Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon earnings, and a key inflation report
Investors face a crowded week starting Monday, October 26: a Federal Reserve rate decision on Wednesday, earnings from Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, and the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge on Thursday, CNBC and Fidelity reported. It comes after a week in which tech stocks slipped on worries about AI spending.
The Fed: The Fed’s two-day meeting, set for October 27-28 on the Fed’s calendar, ends Wednesday with a policy statement at 2 p.m. ET, Fidelity reported. The central bank is widely expected to hold its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4.00%, CNBC reported, and Chair Kevin Warsh will hold a press conference afterward. A weak September jobs report and patient comments from some Fed officials have lowered expectations of a rate hike, even as inflation has moved further from the Fed’s 2% target, according to CNBC.
Big Tech earnings: About 163 S&P 500 companies report this week, CNBC reported. Microsoft and Alphabet report Wednesday and Amazon on Thursday, after Meta and Tesla got a poor reception this past week. Meta shares fell more than 9% over the week after it reported negative free cash flow for the first time since going public, CNBC reported. Visa and Coca-Cola report Tuesday, Eli Lilly on Thursday, and Exxon on Friday, according to Fidelity.
Economic data: The September personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation measure, comes out Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET along with the first estimate of third-quarter GDP and weekly jobless claims, Fidelity reported. Economists expect core PCE inflation of 3.1% over the past year, up from 3.0%, CNBC reported.
Where markets stand: The S&P 500 fell 0.47% in the week ended October 23 and is up 11.37% this year, Fidelity reported, citing Yahoo Finance. These are scheduled events and forecasts, not results; this is not investment advice.