Key Macroeconomic Events Next Week: Fed Rate Decision Approaches, Earnings Reports from Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Others

On April 26, next week marks a super central bank week and earnings week. The Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan, Bank of England, European Central Bank, and Bank of Canada will successively announce their rate decisions, with the Federal Reserve set to release its decision at 2 AM Beijing time on Thursday. The market generally expects all five central banks to maintain their current rates, but the Bank of Japan may signal a hawkish stance for a potential rate hike in June due to Middle East conflicts and inflation pressures, making it the biggest highlight. JPMorgan predicts that the Federal Reserve will keep rates unchanged for the entire year of 2026, with the next adjustment possibly being a rate hike in the third quarter of 2027. The seven tech giants in the U.S. stock market, including Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Meta, will also release their quarterly reports. The important macro data and events for next week are as follows: Monday: According to New Delhi Television, the second round of negotiations between Iran and the U.S. is scheduled for April 27 (local time on Monday). Tuesday: The Bank of Japan will announce its rate decision; Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will hold a monetary policy press conference. Wednesday: The Bank of Canada will decide on its policy interest rate; Iran will announce a major parade showcasing national strength on the 29th (local time on Wednesday); Robinhood will release its earnings report. Thursday: The Federal Reserve FOMC rate decision (2 AM Beijing time); Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a monetary policy press conference (2:30 AM Beijing time); after the U.S. stock market closes, Meta, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google, and Amazon will release their earnings reports and hold conference calls; Bank of England policy interest rate decision; U.S. Q1 real GDP annualized quarter-on-quarter preliminary value; U.S. initial jobless claims for the week of April 25 (in thousands); U.S. March core PCE price index month-on-month. Friday: After the U.S. stock market closes, Apple will hold a conference call to discuss Q2 performance and business updates; Google will raise prices for services such as Cloud, CDN, and AI infrastructure. Saturday: Berkshire Hathaway will hold its first shareholder meeting in the post-Buffett era (8 PM Beijing time on Saturday).