Several Market-Moving Events and Investors

Analysts and investors are closely watching this week as it will be dominated by several market-moving events, including earnings reports, as well as the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting. New spending and tax proposals from the Biden administration will also be in focus. It makes sense to have a look at some of the most important events.

 The first one is the earnings season. About 180 S&P 500 companies, including 10 Dow components, will release corporate results this week. It will be the busiest week of the first quarter earnings season on Wall Street.

 Unsurprisingly, five tech companies: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Google-parent company Alphabet will dominate the headlines. Their collective name is the ‘FAAMG’ group of stocks. All of them are ready to report another quarter of blockbuster earnings as well as sales growth, given their growing dominance in the tech space. 

Microsoft and Google are both likely to release their latest number on April 26. Apple and Facebook will release their respective earnings after the bell on Wednesday. Other famous companies such as Twitter, Spotify, Pinterest, Qualcomm, will also release their earnings reports this week.

 Furthermore, a diverse group of blue chips such as Boeing, Caterpillar, General Electric, Visa, Mastercard, and others will also report their latest quarterly results in the coming days. The Q1 reports from restaurant operators including McDonald’s and Starbucks, are also on the agenda. Investors should also pay attention to corporate results from automakers and pharmaceutical companies. 

Investors, Federal Reserve, and advanced Q1 GDP

The Federal Reserve is not likely to take any action regarding interest rates at the conclusion of its policy meeting on April 28. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference 30 minutes after the release of the Fed’s announcement. Investors as well as analysts are waiting for his press conference. Another important factor is the report published by the Commerce Department.

 The Commerce Department will publish data regarding personal income and spending for March. The data will include the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation figures.  The country’s central bank uses core PCE as a tool to determine whether to raise or lower interest rates, with the aim of keeping inflation at a rate of 2% or below.

 Investors will also monitor a preliminary reading of first quarter U.S. GDP (gross domestic product). They would like to learn more about the economy.