Wednesday's expected
decision on interest rates
from the Federal Reserve, along with earnings from several large tech and entertainment companies, could highlight a busy week ahead for investors.
Palantir (
PLTR
), Advanced Micro Devices (
AMD
), Uber Technologies (
UBER
) and Walt Disney (
DIS
) are some of the companies scheduled to report earnings. The week is also set to bring fresh data on consumer credit, productivity and the U.S. trade balance.
This week follows a stretch in which stocks
shook off April's losses
and the S&P 500 on a historical winning streak. And it marks the start of a new era of sorts: Berkshire Hathaway's (
BRK.A
,
BRK.B
) Warren Buffett over the weekend announced his intention
to step aside
at the end of the year.
Monday, May 5
Tuesday, May 6
Wednesday, May 7
Thursday, May 8
Friday, May 9
Fed's Interest Rate Decision Comes Amid Political Pressure to Lower Rates
The Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday comes as the central bank faces increasing
political pressure to lower interest rates
. But so far, investors don’t expect the Fed will lower rates from its current levels of 4.25%-4.5%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
The Fed’s decision comes after the central bank got more
encouraging inflation news
last week when March’s inflation rate was in line with expectations, though still above the target. U.S. employers also
added more jobs than expected in April
, Friday's jobs report showed.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s
comments after the decision
follow weeks of
scrutiny from President Trump
, which has raised questions over whether the president could remove the Fed chair from his position and what that would mean for central bank independence.
On Friday, the Federal Reserve’s blackout period ends with a noteworthy event that will feature a string of speakers that include Federal Reserve Governors Lisa Cook and Christopher Waller, New York Fed President John Williams, Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack and St. Louis Fed President Alberto Musalem. Also speaking at the event is former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, a key adviser to Trump who has been critical of the Federal Reserve and is thought to be one of the president’s candidates to succeed Powell.
Investors may also look to other key economic releases this week, including
trade balance data
on Tuesday and initial jobless claims on Thursday. Wednesday’s scheduled report on consumer credit comes as economists are evaluating consumer health
amid faltering confidence
, while Thursday’s wholesale inventories report could provide insight on supply chain resilience as trade tensions remain high.
Palantir, AMD, Ford, Disney and More Report Earnings
Ride-hailing company Uber and Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk are set to follow Wednesday, along with Disney. The entertainment giant's report Wednesday follows a
better-than-expected quarter
for the company as it continues to build out its streaming service, even as it reportedly
laid off about 6%
of its news and cable TV divisions.
Other companies due to release their latest quarterly financial results this week include Coinbase, Shopify, brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, energy firms ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum, delivery service DoorDash, online used car retailer Carvana and video game maker Electronic Arts.
This article has been updated since it was first published to add additional information and context.
