The Week Ahead: Big tech earnings, central bank rate meetings, US PCE price index

Published: Friday, 24 April 2026 at 12:15 (UK)

Welcome to Michael Kramer's pick of the key market events to look out for in the week beginning Monday 27 April.

The week ahead is set to be one of the busiest and potentially most important of the year. Four major central banks - the Bank of Japan, US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England - will meet to set their respective interest rates. Alongside this, five mega-cap tech giants - Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Apple - are set to report quarterly earnings. Plus, the March readout of US personal consumption expenditures (PCE), the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, will also be released, offering further insights into the impact of higher oil prices on the economy.

Central bank rate decisions

Tuesday 28 April (Bank of Japan)
Wednesday 29 April (US Federal Reserve)
Thursday 30 April (ECB, Bank of England)
Markets aren't expecting any rate changes from the Fed or the other above-mentioned major central banks at this round of policy meetings. However, uncertainty is building around the outlook for the rest of the year, with markets increasingly considering the possibility of rate increases of up to 50 basis points from the BoJ, ECB and BoE before the end of 2026.

While the Fed is expected to remain on hold, the appointment of a new Fed chair - likely to be Kevin Warsh - in May could influence rate expectations. Currency markets, especially USD/JPY, may be particularly sensitive to the Fed's rate decision and the tone of current chair Jay Powell's subsequent press conference. At the same time, Japan's reliance on imported energy and a relatively cautious policy stance from the BoJ might put upward pressure on the pair.

USD/JPY is approaching resistance near �159.50 per dollar, and the pair appears to be forming a bullish continuation pattern on the technical chart, below. A sustained move higher could open a pathway towards �162, a level the pair last touched in July 2024.

USD/JPY, November 2023 - present

^{Sources: TradingView, Michael Kramer}

Meta Platforms Q1 earnings

Wednesday 29 April
Meta is expected to report that first-quarter revenue grew 31.1% year-on-year to $55.5bn, though earnings are projected to rise just 4.8% to $6.74 a share as capital expenditure jumped an estimated 97.7% versus the year-ago period to $25.6bn, based on analysts' estimates. Gross margins are forecast to have tightened to 80.9%, down from 81.8% in the previous quarter.

Guidance will be a key focus, with Q2 revenue projected to grow 25% to $59.5bn. Full-year capital expenditure is expected to rise 59.3% to $111bn, driven by spending on AI.

The options market implies that the Facebook and Instagram owner's share price - up roughly 11% in the past month at around $660 - could move 6.2% in either direction following Wednesday's results announcement. Implied volatility is elevated and likely to increase further ahead of the release. Positioning suggests a wide potential trading range, signalling scope for potential volatility, with resistance around $750 and support near $550. Post-earnings, there is a risk that bullish positioning unwinds, potentially weighing on the shares.

From a technical analysis perspective, support sits at about $575, near a gap that formed on 8 April. Near-term resistance is around $690, with a more significant hurdle near $740. After a strong pre-earnings rally, a move lower could turn the gap near $575 into a potential downside target for sellers.

Meta Platforms share price, November 2025 - present

^{Sources: TradingView, Michael Kramer}

US March PCE price index

Thursday 30 April
Following the recent rise in oil prices, economists are expecting a strong headline PCE reading for March. Markets are likely to focus on core PCE, which removes volatile food and energy prices to offer a clearer sense of underlying inflation trends. The core print is expected to show that prices increased 0.2% month-on-month (down from 0.4% in February) and 3.1% year-on-year (down from 3% in February).

Equity markets have bounced back as tensions in the Middle East have eased, with the S&P 500 gaining about 8% in the past month to top 7,000 points for the first time, despite mounting inflation concerns. However, a stronger than expected PCE reading might prompt a reassessment of the outlook, potentially sending the index lower.

The S&P 500 has run into resistance near the 7,150 mark, and has recently broken below a short-term uptrend. A combination of weaker momentum and firmer inflation data could see the index dip to test the previous high near 6,985.

S&P 500, 5 February 2026 - present

^{Sources: TradingView, Michael Kramer}

Economic and company events calendar

Major upcoming economic announcements and scheduled US and UK company reports include:

Monday 27 April
- US: Treasury note auction
Results: Cadence Design Systems (Q1), Verizon Communications (Q1)

Tuesday 28 April
- Eurozone: European Central Bank (ECB) bank lending survey
- Germany: May GfK consumer confidence survey
- Japan: Bank of Japan interest rate decision
- US: Four-week ADP employment change, April consumer confidence index
Results: American Tower (Q1), Barclays (Q1), Booking (Q1), BP (Q1), Coca-Cola (Q1), Enterprise Products Partners (Q1), General Motors (Q1), Hilton (Q1), Mondelez (Q1), Robinhood Markets (Q1), S&P Global (Q1), Seagate Technology (Q3), Sherwin-Williams (Q1), Spotify (Q1), Starbucks (Q2), T-Mobile US (Q1), United Parcel Service (Q1), Visa (Q2)

Wednesday 29 April
- Australia: March consumer price index (CPI)
- Canada: Bank of Canada interest rate decision
- Eurozone: April consumer confidence index, April business climate index
- Germany: April flash CPI
- US: Federal Reserve interest rate decision, March building permits, March housing starts
Results: AbbVie (Q1), Alphabet (Q1), Amazon (Q1), Amphenol (Q1), AstraZeneca (Q1), Automatic Data Processing (Q3), Carvana (Q1), Chipotle Mexican Grill (Q1), eBay (Q1), Equinix (Q1), Ford (Q1), Garmin (Q1), General Dynamics (Q1), GSK (Q1), Haleon (Q1), Lloyds Banking (Q1), Meta Platforms (Q1), Microsoft (Q3), Qualcomm (Q2), Waste Management (Q1), Yum! Brands (Q1)

Thursday 30 April
- Canada: February gross domestic product (GDP)
- China: April purchasing managers' index (PMI) data
- Eurozone: ECB interest rate decision, Q1 flash GDP, April flash CPI
- France: Q1 flash GDP, April flash CPI
- Germany: Q1 flash GDP, March retail sales, March unemployment rate
- Japan: March large retailer sales
- UK: Bank of England interest rate decision
- US: Q1 flash GDP, March personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, weekly initial jobless claims
Results: Altria (Q1), Amgen (Q1), Apple (Q2), Bristol-Myers Squibb (Q1), Caterpillar (Q1), ConocoPhillips (Q1), Eli Lilly (Q1), Endeavour Mining (Q1), Mastercard (Q1), Merck (Q1), Parker-Hannifin (Q3), Reddit (Q1), Sandisk (Q3), Southern (Q1), Standard Chartered (Q1), Stryker (Q1), Trane Technologies (Q1), Unilever (Q1), Western Digital (Q3)

Friday 1 May
- Australia: Q1 producer price index (PPI)
- Japan: April Tokyo CPI
- Switzerland: March retail sales
- US: April ISM manufacturing PMI
Results: Aon (Q1), CBOE Global Markets (Q1), Chevron (Q1), Colgate-Palmolive (Q1), Estee Lauder (Q3), Exxon Mobil (Q1), Linde (Q1), Moderna (Q1), NatWest (Q1)

Note: While we check all dates carefully to ensure that they are correct at the time of writing, the above announcements are subject to change.