Fed Interest-Rate Decision; Earnings From Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, Alphabet

A Federal Reserve interest rate decision and a string of Magnificent Seven earnings are among the coming week’s top events for investors, who will also continue to monitor the effects of the government shutdown.

The Fed is generally expected to cut rates, and so many will look quickly to remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell for clues on what the central bank will do next. Last week the major U.S. indexes all posted gains, with a strong Friday session leaving the Dow finishing above 47000 for the first time.

Meanwhile, investors will digest a busy run of earnings as they listen for the latest on artificial intelligence (AI) developments and other updates from tech leaders Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Google parent Alphabet. Numbers from oil firms, health care providers, credit card issuers, heavy-equipment makers, travel bookers and beverage sellers are also due this week.

Read to the bottom for our calendar of key events—and one more thing. 

Rate Cut Expected Amid Shutdown-Driven Data Drought

Market watchers expect the Federal Reserve to reduce interest rates for a second time this year when it concludes its meeting on Wednesday. The central bank is seen reducing its federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point, bringing it down to a range of 3.75% to 4%.

The Fed’s next move comes amid increasing fears of weakness in the labor market; lower borrowing costs could help spur business activity and create more jobs. However, the rate cut decision arrives as inflation remains above the Fed’s target level, and rate cuts could mean upward pressure on prices.

The U.S. government shutdown is poised to enter its second month. The work stoppage has closed several statistical agencies that release data on employment, price levels, and other key economic metrics. Inflation data, factory orders, and the U.S. trade balance reports, originally scheduled for this week, are likely to be impacted by the shutdown. Private-sector data on consumer confidence, home price levels, and pending home sales are still on the schedule.

Magnificent Seven Reports Likely to Keep Focus on AI

Most of the Magnificent Seven will release quarterly earnings this week. They’re expected to provide more news and context on the state of artificial intelligence spending, which could add to the recent stretch of volatile market movements.

It’ll be a busy slate of corporate reports. Three big ones come Wednesday, with the world’s second-most valuable company, Microsoft, leading the list after it unveiled a new $40 billion AI data center deal that includes chipmaker Nvidia.  Alphabet’s report arrives as the search giant was reportedly close to sealing a major deal with AI startup Anthropic. Facebook parent Meta’s report is likely to provide more details into the company’s recent move into AI-power glasses. 

Thursday’s calendar is led by Apple, which is riding high after its share price hit a record on a strong sales report for its newly released iPhone 17 model. And investors may want to hear about internet outages at Amazon Web Services when it hosts its quarterly earnings call on Thursday afternoon. 

Earnings releases from Exxon Mobil, Visa, UnitedHealth Group, Caterpillar, Boeing, Eli Lilly, and Anheuser-Busch are likely to put attention on several other industrial sectors. 

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This Week’s Calendar

Monday, Oct. 27

• Data Delayed by the Shutdown: Durable-goods orders (September)
• Key Earnings: Welltower (WELL), Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), Waste Management (WM), Hartford Insurance Group (HIG)

Tuesday, Oct. 28

• Consumer confidence (October)
• More Data to Watch: S&P Case-Shiller home price index (August)
• Key Earnings: Visa (V), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Novartis (NVS), Booking Holdings (BKNG), Royal Caribbean (RCL)

Wednesday, Oct. 29

• FOMC interest-rate decisions
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell press conference
• More Data to Watch: Pending home sales (September)
• Data Delayed by the Shutdown: Advanced U.S. trade balance in goods (September), Advanced retail inventories (September), Advanced wholesale inventories (September)
• Key Earnings: Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Meta (META), Caterpillar (CAT), ServiceNow (NOW), Verizon (VZ), Boeing (BA), CVS (CVS), Starbucks (SBUX), Carvana (CVNA)

Thursday, Oct. 30

• Data Delayed by the Shutdown: Initial jobless claims (Week ending Oct. 25), Gross domestic product (Q3)
• Key Earnings: Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Eli Lilly (LLY), Mastercard (MA), Merck (MRK), Shell (SHEL), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Anheuser-Busch (BUD), Comcast (CMCSA)

Friday, Oct. 31

• Chicago Business Barometer (PMI) (October)
• Data Delayed by the Shutdown: PCE index (September), Employment cost index (Q3)
• Key Earnings: Exxon Mobil (XOM), AbbVie (ABBV), Chevron (CVX), Colgate-Palmolive (CL)

One More Thing

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays are facing off in the World Series. While only one team can win the Commissioner’s Trophy, Investopedia’s Aaron McDade has more on how much the players from each team stand to gain from being part of the Fall Classic.