Investors brace for Big Tech earnings and a Fed decision in a packed week for markets
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- Investors are heading into a big week with the Fed's rate decision and Big Tech earnings on deck.
- Tesla, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple will report fourth-quarter results this week.
- The Fed will announce its next interest rate decision on Wednesday.
Investors are gearing up for a packed week of potentially market-moving updates from Big Tech and the Fed.
The Fed's coming decision on interest rates and Big Tech earnings could spark fresh volatility in markets, depending on what they tell investors about the path of the economy in 2026 and the state of the AI trade.
Investors are coming out of a rocky few trading weeks amid weeks of geopolitical tensions and a return of the "Sell America" trade. Most recently, President Trump did a U-turn, ramping up his rhetoric about acquiring Greenland before announcing that a framework deal was being hammered out between the US and NATO. The about-face led stocks to rally after plunging earlier in the week.
"With the Greenland crisis sidelined for now, investors can look forward," Art Hogan, the chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth Management, wrote in a note, pointing to coming tech earnings in particular.
Here's everything on investors' radar this week.
Big Tech earnings
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Four of the Magnificent Seven tech titans will report their fourth-quarter results this week.
Wednesday, January 28
Thursday, January 29
Mega-cap tech earnings have come under greater scrutiny each quarter as investors worry about bloated valuations and returns amid soaring capex spending by AI hyperscalers. The AI trade has remained strong so far in 2026, but concerns are rising about high levels of debt-fueled capex.
Earning season broadly kicks into high gear this week. The companies reporting results during the week make up nearly a third of the S&P 500 and 37% of the technology sector.
Fed meeting
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The Fed's January policy meeting kicks off on Tuesday. FOMC members are widely expected to pause rate cuts, with markets pricing in a 97% probability that the committee will opt to keep rates unchanged, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
This week's meeting is coming into sharper focus amid the latest political drama swirling around Powell and the central bank.
Most recently, the Department of Justice kicked off a criminal investigation into Powell for his testimony on the Fed's building renovations last year. While President Trump has said he had no knowledge of the probe, the move is being read as another attempt from the Trump administration to pressure the Fed to cut rates.
Trump is also zeroing in on his next pick for Fed Chair, and markets are still waiting on a ruling from the Supreme Court about whether Trump has the power to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook.
Enrique Diaz Alvarez, the chief economist at Ebury, said investors seemed preoccupied with "policy chaos" and worries about "institutional degradation," referring to concerns about the Fed's independence.
"We expect Powell to emphasise that the US economy remains in a decent place, while indicating to markets that the FOMC is in no rush to cut rates again," Alvarez wrote on Monday.
"The Fed is unlikely to take any action this week. Inaction is politically the safest strategy, but also the most prudent given mixed economic signals," Emily Bowersock Hill, the CEO of Bowersock Capital Partners, wrote in a note.
Also on deck are a handful of economic data updates, including December wholesale inflation and the latest consumer confidence reading.