Macroeconomic/ geopolitical developments
- U.S. and global markets rallied last week on optimism over easing trade tensions, with major indexes posting strong gains as investors grew hopeful that tariff pressures may soon subside.
- President Donald Trump rattled markets by attacking Fed Chair Jerome Powell and hinting at his removal, but later reversed course by affirming Powell’s position, easing investor fears over Fed independence.
- Federal Reserve officials signaled potential interest rate cuts as early as June amid slowing growth, rising tariff pressures, and mounting recession risks, though they are expected to hold rates steady at their May meeting.
- Big Tech outperformance, led by Alphabet, helped U.S. stocks end a volatile week higher, even as mixed corporate earnings and tariff concerns kept investors cautious.
- The upcoming week will be critical for U.S. markets, with the monthly employment report, key economic data, and earnings results from major tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta set to shape investor sentiment amid ongoing trade and economic uncertainties.
Global financial market developments
- US and global equity averages recovered higher.
- US and European bond yields were lower on the week
- The US Dollar Index bounced from a multi-month low.
- Gold futures setback from a new all time high..
- Oil futures consolidated recent April rebound gains from significant, early April losses.
Key this week
Central Bank Watch: The main central bank activity this week is the Bank of Japan Interest Rate Decision and Monetary Policy Statement on Thursday.
Macro Data Watch: The main macro data releases this week are the Global Manufacturing PMI data and the US Employment report on Friday. Some other releases of note are the US Consumer Confidence on Tuesday, plus US PCE and US GDP both released Wednesday
Earnings Watch: The main US 2025 Q1 earnings releases this week are four of the Magnificent Seven, with Microsoft and Meta releasing their earnings on Wednesday and Apple and Amazon releasing them on Thursday.
| Date | Major Macro Data |
| 04/28/2025 | Nothing of note |
| 04/29/2025 | US and German Consumer Confidence; EU Consumer Confidence and Economic Sentiment |
| 04/30/2025 | Japanese Retail Sales and Retail Trade; Australian CPI; Chinese Manufacturing PMI; German GDP, Retail Sales, Unemployment Report and CPI; EU GDP; Canadian GDP; US PCE and GDP |
| 05/01/2025 | BoJ Interest Rate Decision and Monetary Policy Statement; US and Global Manufacturing PMI |
| 05/02/2025 | EU CPI; US Employment Report |
| Date | Major Earnings Data |
| 04/28/2025 | Nothing of note |
| 04/29/2025 | Visa A; Coca-Cola; AstraZeneca; Booking; S&P Global; Pfizer |
| 04/30/2025 | Microsoft; Meta Platforms; Qualcomm; Caterpillar |
| 05/01/2025 | Apple; Amazon; Eli Lilly; Mastercard; McDonald’s; Linde PLC |
| 05/02/2025 | Exxon Mobil; Chevron |
