Breaking news this week: The Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve consecutively announce interest rate decisions, 5 of the 7 major U.S. stock giants will release earnings reports, and the latest employment data from the U.S. Department of Labor is out.

BlockBeats News, April 27 — All G7 member countries will hold central bank meetings this week, and according to market capitalization, 42% of companies in the S&P 500 will release earnings reports, including five of the seven tech giants — even without considering potential breaking news related to the Iran war, this week promises to be a major one.

The Bank of Japan will announce its interest rate decision on Tuesday, with Ueda Kazuo holding a press conference. Following that, on Wednesday (early Thursday Beijing time), the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada will also hold meetings. On Thursday, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will announce their interest rate decisions. Although all central banks are expected to keep rates unchanged, the key question is how each central bank’s response mechanism will be affected by conflicts and the related stagflation risks.

Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta will also release their first-quarter earnings after the U.S. stock market closes on Wednesday (early Thursday Beijing time), with Apple scheduled to announce on Thursday (early Friday Beijing time) at 5 a.m.

Deutsche Bank economists expect any significant guidance changes from the Federal Reserve to be delayed until June, as this week is Powell’s last meeting before stepping down. Nevertheless, communication may lean slightly hawkish — either through subtle adjustments in language such as “additional policy adjustments,” or through Chairman Powell hinting at a more balanced assessment of the risks to the dual mandate. Clearly acknowledging that the risks to price stability and employment are now more balanced could be interpreted as a slightly less dovish stance.

In addition to the meetings, Thursday’s personal income and expenditure report, especially the latest unemployment claims data and core PCE data, are very important. The specific schedule for key information this Thursday Beijing time is as follows:

· 2:00: Federal Reserve FOMC announces interest rate decision

· 2:30: Federal Reserve Chair Powell speaks

· 4:30: Alphabet earnings call

· 5:30: Microsoft, Amazon, Meta earnings calls

· 20:15: European Central Bank announces interest rate decision

· 20:30: Latest U.S. employment data and Q1 real GDP annualized quarterly rate preliminary figures