What will drive the markets this week?
On Friday, U.S. stocks ended the day on a high note, lifted by a surge in megacap growth stocks following strong quarterly performances from tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft, alongside moderate inflation figures.
In Europe, the benchmark STOXX 600 index marked its largest one-day gain in over three months, led by banking and industrial stocks, while positive results from U.S. megacaps boosted the technology sector. The index closed 1.2% higher, recording its most significant weekly gain since late January, with industrials rising by 1.8%, notably driven by a surge of 11.4% in Finnish engineering group Wartsila after surpassing first-quarter order intake and core profit expectations.
In Asia, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.75% higher at 535.58, while Japan’s Nikkei rose by 306.28 points, or 0.81%, reaching 37,934.76.
Investors will be closely watching the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting and Big Tech earnings as the new month kicks off.
The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee is set to convene on Tuesday and Wednesday, widely anticipated to maintain the status quo with the fed fund rate. Nevertheless, all eyes will be on Chair Jerome Powell’s post-meeting press conference, as investors seek hints regarding potential rate adjustments.
Bookending the Fed’s decision are eagerly anticipated earnings reports from Big Tech giants. Amazon (AMZN) will unveil its quarterly financials on Tuesday, followed by Apple (AAPL) on Thursday. Noteworthy earnings releases also include those from chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), beverage behemoth Coca-Cola (KO), and fast-food titan McDonald’s (MCD). Wrapping up the week is the unveiling of the April U.S. employment report. Investors will keenly observe whether the economy can sustain its streak of surprising job growth.
Events expected to move the markets this week
Monday, April 29
- Dallas Fed Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey
- NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), ON Semiconductor (ON), MicroStrategy (MSTR), Paramount Global (PARA), and Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) report earnings
Tuesday, April 30
- Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting begins
- S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index (February)
- Consumer confidence (April)
- American Express (AXP) investor day
- Amazon, Coca-Cola8, Marathon Petroleum (MPC), Eli Lilly (LLY)10, Advanced Micro Devices, McDonald’s, Starbucks (SBUX), Stellantis (STLA), PayPal Holdings (PYPL), and GE HealthCare Technologies (GEHC) report earnings
Wednesday, May 1
- ADP employment (April)
- Construction spending (March)
- ISM manufacturing (April)
- Job openings (March)
- Federal Reserve interest rate decision
- Fed Chair Jerome Powell press conference
- United Airlines Holdings (UAL) investor day
- Viking Holdings initial public offering (IPO) expected
- Mastercard (MA), Pfizer (PFE), CVS Health (CVS), Qualcomm (QCOM), Marriott International (MAR), Estee Lauder (EL), DoorDash (DASH), and Yum! Brands (YUM) report earnings
Thursday, May 2
- Initial jobless claims (Week ending April 27)
- U.S. trade deficit (March)
- U.S. productivity (First Quarter)
- Factory orders (March)
- Apple25, ConocoPhillips (COP), Novo Nordisk (NVO), Shell (SHEL), Amgen (AMGN), and Booking Holdings (BKNG) report earnings
Friday, May 3
- U.S. employment report (April)
- ISM services (April)
- Hershey (HSY) and CBRE Group (CBRE) report earnings
- Saturday, May 4
- Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) annual shareholder meeting Berkshire Hathaway.