Three of the world's leading central banks will have policy meetings this week, and three of the top four U.S. firms by market value will report profits.

Bank of England

On Thursday, the BOE, the first of the major central banks to begin raising interest rates, is likely to issue its eleventh rate rise since December 2021.

Rates are largely predicted to be raised by 50 basis points to 4%. Headline inflation fell to 10.5% in December, although it remains more than five times the Bank's stated objective, and wage growth is stubbornly high.

Market participants will be seeking clues as to whether officials believe they are nearing the conclusion of their tightening cycle. Money markets presently forecast one more 25 basis point boost in March, bringing the Bank Rate to a high of 4.25%.

European Central Bank

The ECB is expected to raise interest rates by 50 basis points to 3% when it meets on Thursday, but what happens next is unknown. Market participants will be looking for clues as to how far and how quickly policymakers aim to go.

Despite rising disagreement among officials, ECB President Christine Lagarde is expected to stay hawkish as core inflation remains persistently high, with more dovish voices claiming that inflation has receded from record highs.

With inflation remaining well above the ECB's 2% objective, policy hawks are pressing for more of the same in March.

Prior to the ECB meeting on Thursday, the Eurozone will announce fourth-quarter GDP on Tuesday, which is likely to indicate a modest decrease. On Wednesday, the EU will announce January inflation statistics, which are projected to have slowed for the third month in a row.

Federal Reserve

Will the Fed decrease the pace of rate rises in the face of slowing inflation, or will it stick to its guns? Market players anticipate a 25-basis-point rate hike on Wednesday to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%, with the pace of the increase moderating for the second consecutive meeting.

Investors will be monitoring Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-policy meeting news conference attentively for clues about how much higher interest rates will rise and when authorities may contemplate a pause.

In the meantime, Friday's employment report is predicted to reveal that the economy added 185,000 jobs in January, down from 223,000 the previous month, while the unemployment rate is expected to rise to 3.6%. Average hourly wages are predicted to fall marginally from the previous month.

On Wednesday, the economic calendar includes data on job openings for December, as well as ISM PMIs.

Tech Earnings

Apple, Amazon, and Alphabet - three of the four largest U.S. businesses by market capitalization - are all set to report profits on Thursday as earnings season kicks off. Meta Platforms is scheduled to release its earnings report on Wednesday.

Microsoft, the fourth largest company in the United States, announced its results last week. Its cloud business met Wall Street expectations, but it presented a bleak projection that provided little hope for the larger IT sector.

In general, technology businesses are under pressure to expand while decreasing expenses in anticipation of a possible recession.

(Investing.com, Reuters.com)