27 Jan Week Ahead: ECB & Fed Decisions, Tech Earnings & More

The week ahead of 27 January is looking eventful. Key earnings from some of the world’s biggest tech companies, interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Federal Reserve, and data from the world’s largest economies are set to be released, providing traders and investors with key information about the state of the economy.

Let’s dive in:

Big Tech Earnings 

Tech stocks have undoubtedly gained in the last couple of months as the demand for artificial intelligence (AI) coupled with Donald Trump’s pro-tech stance boosted tech stocks. 

President Trump collaborated with tech CEOs like Elon Musk (who will lead the Trump Administration Department of Government Efficiency along with Vivek Ramaswamy). He also released a $500 billion AI project in collaboration with OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Oracle’s Larry Ellison, and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son. 

Trump’s stance on tech can clearly be seen through the tech executives who attended his inauguration on Monday, 20 January, including Mark Zuckerberg (Meta CEO), Jeff Bezos (Amazon CEO), Elon Musk (Tesla CEO), Tim Cook (Apple CEO), Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO), and Sundar Pichai (Alphabet CEO). 

Trump also founded the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), which includes 25 experts, and intends to chart the path “forward for American leadership in science and technology.”

Amid these developments, traders and investors may want to monitor this week’s upcoming big tech earnings to see what else may lie ahead for this growing field:

This Week’s Key Tech Earnings

The main tech reports for the week include Wednesday’s reports from Microsoft, Meta, Tesla, IBM, and ASML and Thursday’s releases from Apple and Intel. (Source: NASDAQ)

The results from these big names can provide a more comprehensive view of the tech landscape as we dive deeper into 2025 and the pro-tech Trump administration. 

More Earnings to Keep in Mind

Besides tech, it may be worth keeping tabs on the following earnings for the week:

• Tuesday, 28 January: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Starbucks, Royal Caribbean, and General Motors. 

• Wednesday, 29 January: Hess, Norfolk Southern Corporation, MSCI, and Teva.

• Thursday, 30 January: Visa, Mastercard, Caterpillar, Comcast, and Deutsche Bank AG.

• Friday, 31 January: Exxon Mobil, AbbVie, Chevron, and Novartis. 

These releases can help traders and analysts understand the general economic landscape.

Interest Rate Decisions: Fed & ECB

Two of the world’s most powerful central banks, the Fed and the ECB, will release their rate decision this week. 

The Fed

The Fed’s first rate decision meeting of 2025 will take place on 28-29 January (Wednesday- Thursday) and will be followed by remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. 

While the Fed’s actual decision has yet to be made, the general consensus is that it will keep rates unchanged at  4.25% to 4.50% as it waits for more data to show that inflation has cooled enough. 

Moreover, some experts note that the Fed may be waiting to see the effects of Trump’s policies, like tax cuts and trade tariffs, which could “stoke inflation,” pressuring this central bank to keep rates higher for longer.

The ECB

The ECB will release its rate decision on Thursday, 30 January. Unlike the Fed, the ECB is expected to cut the rate by another quarter-point this time. 

Some experts explain that “the minutes of last December’s policy meeting in Frankfurt asserted that inflation could return to its 2% target by the middle of 2025, while economic growth has remained weak, especially in Germany and France.”

However, only time will tell what the Eurozone’s rate decision will look like. 

More Data Releases

In addition to the abovementioned reports and events, this week, the following releases are set to take place and may be worth keeping in mind:

• Tuesday, 28 January: US Consumer Confidence, US Durable Goods 

• Thursday, 30 January: Eurozone Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

• Friday, 31 January: US Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE)

What will these releases reveal?

Conclusion

To conclude, although January 2025 may be nearing its end, its economic and financial releases are far from over, as the week of 27 January shows. 

Key reports from big tech companies and some of the world’s leading economies will be released this week, providing an overview of the economy as we head deeper into the new year.