Fed, ECB and Bank of Japan Decisions Converge With Big Tech Earnings This Week

Three central bank decisions and earnings calls from Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon and Intel will put monetary policy, economic growth and AI infrastructure spending on the U.S. markets calendar this week.

The Fed is set to announce its decision at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, Oct. 28, followed by a news conference at 2:30 p.m. A 12-0 vote in September raised the benchmark rate by 25 basis points, to a range of 3.75% to 4%. Markets broadly expect rates to hold steady. The chair’s comments on energy prices, employment and consumer spending will be watched for any indication officials see room for another increase in December. The Fed is not scheduled to issue new economic projections or a dot plot.

Alphabet’s third-quarter earnings call is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, followed by Microsoft’s first-quarter call at 5:30 p.m. Microsoft’s Azure and other cloud revenue grew 43% year over year in its previous quarter, while Google Cloud revenue rose 82% to $24.8 billion. Investors will look for updates on cloud growth, backlogs, margins and capital spending as companies expand AI infrastructure. Meta’s third-quarter capital spending was $34.91 billion, while free cash flow was negative $21.2 billion.

The U.S. advance estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product and September personal consumption expenditures price index are due at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday, Oct. 29. The final estimate put second-quarter real GDP growth at an annualized 2.2%, compared with 2.5% in the first quarter. The August PCE index rose 3.4% year over year, while core PCE rose 3%. The Fed decision and data releases also fall within a two-week test for crypto markets.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is scheduled to announce its decision at 9:15 a.m. ET Thursday, with a news conference at 9:45 a.m. It raised its deposit rate by 25 basis points in September, to 2.5%, and projected eurozone inflation of 2.5% in 2027 and 2.1% in 2028. Markets broadly expect a pause, with attention on energy costs and the conditions for further tightening.

Amazon and Intel are scheduled to hold third-quarter earnings calls at 5 p.m. ET Thursday. Amazon’s second-quarter AWS revenue grew 37% to $42.2 billion, its fastest pace in 18 quarters, while companywide operating profit rose 43% to $27.5 billion. Investors will watch AWS growth, margins and AI infrastructure spending. Intel’s foundry revenue and losses, advanced-process customers and manufacturing investment plans will also be in focus.

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) will announce its rate decision and economic outlook Friday, Oct. 30. A news conference with its governor is scheduled for 2:30 a.m. ET. The BOJ raised its policy rate to 1.25% in September, and markets broadly expect it to hold. Its inflation outlook, wage growth, the yen and energy import costs are among the issues in focus.