What To Expect in the Markets This Week
Coming up: Fed rate decision, jobs report, earnings from Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta
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Key Takeaways
The Federal Reserve will issue its latest rate decision on Wednesday, although investors aren’t anticipating the central bank will move rates lower.
Big Tech earnings dominate the calendar, with Apple, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft all set to report in the week.
Investors also will get updates from McDonald’s, ExxonMobil, Pfizer, and Merck.
It will be a busy week for markets with big events in monetary policy and earnings from more than half of the Magnificent Seven companies.
The Federal Reserve will announce its latest decision on interest rates this Wednesday, which will be followed by comments from Chair Jerome Powell.
Several noteworthy companies are scheduled to report this week, including leading Big Tech firms Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), and Meta Platforms (META), along with several chipmakers. Investors will also get quarterly updates from McDonald’s (MCD), ExxonMobil (XOM), and Merck (MRK).
Monday, July 29
Dallas Federal Reserve manufacturing index (July)
McDonald’s, ON Semiconductor (ON), Equity Residential (EQR), and SBA Communications (SBAC) report earnings
Tuesday, July 30
S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index (May)
Consumer Confidence (June)
Job openings (June)
Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting begins
Microsoft, Procter & Gamble (PG), Merck, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Pfizer (PFE), BP (BP) and Starbucks (SBUX) report earnings
Wednesday, July 31
ADP employment report (July)
Pending home sales (June)
FOMC interest rate decision
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's press conference
Meta Platforms, Mastercard (MA), Qualcomm (QCOM), T-Mobile (TMUS), Arm Holdings (ARM), Lam Research (LRCX), and Boeing (BA) report earnings
Thursday, Aug. 1
Jobless claims (Week ending July 27)
S&P manufacturing PMI (July)
ISM manufacturing (July)
Construction spending (June)
Apple, Amazon, Toyota Motor (TM), Shell (SHEL), Intel (INTC), Booking Holdings (BKNG), ConocoPhillips (COP), and Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) report earnings
Friday, Aug. 2
U.S. employment report (July)
Factory orders (June)
ExxonMobil and Chevron (CVX) report earnings
Fed Rate Decision Comes as Officials Watch Employment Levels
Market watchers will be closely focused on Wednesday when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announces its latest decision on interest rates.
The Fed is widely expected to keep rates at the current level of 5.25% to 5.5%, with investors believing the central bank won’t take action on rates until its meeting in September. After the decision this week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will take media questions.
The employment report on Friday comes as Federal Reserve officials are keeping a close eye on the labor market following a rise in unemployment last month. If Fed officials don’t surprise with an interest rate cut on Wednesday, the jobs report could indicate whether economic conditions are on track for a September rate cut.
Big Tech a Highlight of Earnings Calendar, Along With Oil, Pharmaceutical Firms
Investors will get another batch of earnings reports, with tech and energy firms in the spotlight this week.
On Tuesday, Microsoft will report earnings after it rode a 20% jump in cloud business revenue early this year to grow its quarterly net income by 33%. Then comes Meta Platforms' report on Wednesday, after the Instagram parent offered weaker guidance for the latest quarter. On Thursday, Apple’s earning report will show whether it can continue to surprise analysts with its revenue growth, while Amazon looks to continue growing its advertising and cloud services.
On Friday, corporate earnings will focus on the energy sector, with ExxonMobil reporting its quarterly results after the oil giant missed on profit in the previous quarter and Chevron providing its financial update after that oil company posted lower revenue and net income in its prior report. BP, Shell, and ConocoPhillips report earlier in the week.
Earnings reports from McDonald’s on Monday and Starbucks on Tuesday will provide indicators on the health of the consumer, coming as McDonald’s reportedly will keep its $5 value meal promotion in August as customers continue to object to high prices.
Other noteworthy reports this week include the quarterly earnings from Boeing, its first since it pleaded guilty to charges it defrauded the government over a pair of crashes of its 737 Max planes. On Tuesday, pharmaceutical firms Merck and Pfizer are set to issue their quarterly financial updates.
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