Market Watchlist: Fed Rate Decision, NFP, and Tech Earnings

Investors are set to have a busy week ahead, with plenty of earning reports from major businesses and potential market volatility.

Key takeaways:

• Starting Wednesday, there is an important event for the U.S. market: the Federal Funds Rate.

• Recent trends show a rising unemployment rate and decelerating job growth, with various labour market indicators softening.

• Investors and traders should prepare for high impact across all assets.  

Investors are expected to have a busy week ahead of them, with plenty of potential for market volatility. Starting Wednesday, we'll have our most important event for the U.S. market: the Federal Funds Rate at 6.00 pm GMT, followed by the Federal Open Market Committe (FOMC) meeting at 6:30 pm GMT.

Money markets have already priced in the expectation that the Fed will maintain the current federal funds rate. However, investors are also anticipating a clear signal from the central bank about potential policy easing starting in September. While there was earlier speculation about an immediate rate cut, this possibility has become less likely due to the stronger-than-expected GDP growth in the second quarter.  

 Image: Most anticipated market releases, by Earning Whispers

The next key figure is the nonfarm payrolls report for July, due this Friday at 12.30 pm GMT. Forecasts suggest an increase of 178,000 jobs, indicating a healthy but more moderate pace of growth. The unemployment rate, which has risen for three consecutive months, is expected to remain at 4.1%.  

Recent trends show a rising unemployment rate and decelerating job growth, with various labour market indicators softening. If this pattern continues, it will likely strengthen expectations for a Fed rate cut in September. Such a move could potentially weaken the dollar and provide support for stock prices.  

This week is also packed with important earnings reports, especially from tech stocks. Tuesday will see reports from AMD and Microsoft, followed by Meta on Wednesday. Thursday is another big day, with Amazon, Apple, Intel, and Coinbase all reporting. The Nasdaq Composite Index has fallen 8% recently, possibly hinting at less favourable earnings than expected.  

Given these events, this week is highly anticipated and likely to cause significant market movements. Investors and traders should prepare for high impact across all assets.