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US Fed rate hike decision, top tech stocks earnings results and jobs data will be the key events to watch this week.
Big tech companies’ earnings, the Federal Reserve’s first meeting of the year to decide on rate hike and the monthly jobs data for January are scheduled for release this week. Noticeably, this could be Wall Street’s busiest week of the year. Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), and Facebook parent company Meta (FB) are among significant firms expected to announce quarterly financial results till Friday. These companies are mega-caps and make up the majority of the S&P 500 market capitalization.
This week, as mega-cap technology giants report profits at a pivotal time in their company, the 2023 stock market rally will face its toughest test yet. The gains in tech stocks coincide with a rise in technology layoffs following a surge in hiring during the post-pandemic boom. Alphabet revealed plans to slash 12,000 positions this week. Amazon and Meta Platforms have both announced large-scale layoffs as growth slows after accelerating in 2021.
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Another key event will be the US Fed rate hike decision to be announced this week. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will hold its first meeting on January 31 and February 1, 2023. On February 1 at 2:00 PM ET, the Fed will announce its decision to raise interest rates. On a global scale, investors, traders, economists, and analysts closely monitor the announcement of a Fed rate hike. Stock market participants are interested in the size of the rate increase as well as the remarks made by Fed Chairman Powell at the conference that follows the event.
Finally, the government’s January jobs report will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET on Friday, rounding out the week. Economists predict that 185,000 jobs were added to the economy last month.
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Beginning in 2023, stocks have surged as many investors anticipate that the Federal Reserve would halt its cycle of rate increases earlier than anticipated due to deteriorating economic statistics. On Friday, all three leading indices finished off their fourth consecutive winning week. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the way with a surge north of 4%, while the S&P 500 had a weekly gain of almost 2.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial climbed 1.8%.