Investors are bracing for a busy week ahead with the latest corporate earnings season well underway. Several Big Tech stocks reported their quarterly earnings last week, with Tesla and Alphabet Inc. posting disappointing financial results, with the remaining “Magnificant Seven” stocks set to announce their financial results this upcoming week.
Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft are all amongst the Big Tech firms that are still to announce their earnings, with such corporate earnings set to no doubt have a major effect on investor outlook.
Aside from corporate earnings, investors will no doubt be anticipating the latest interest rate policy adjustments of the Federal Reserve, which is set to announce its decision on Wednesday. The central bank’s decision is expected to be largely influenced by the latest personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge.
Core PCE rose 2.6% on an annual basis. While higher than economists’ expectations, it rose at its slowest pace in the past three years, thereby giving the central bank confidence that inflation is cooling, moving toward the Fed’s 2% target. Another crucial area that the Fed is monitoring is the labor market. With the latest monthly jobs report expected to show labor market stabilization, the Fed is largely expected to consider an interest rate cut by the time its September meeting arrives.