Key takeaways:

• Big tech earnings, local inflation data, and the Fed’s first interest rate decision of the year headline an action-packed week

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Economic Calendar and News

This week, the focus will be on the consumer price index (CPI) for the December quarter, coming out on Wednesday. This is important as it will provide insights into whether the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) needs to adjust monetary policy at its first meeting of 2024. For investors, it may also have valuable information on goods and services inflation.

Average consensus figures tracked by Bloomberg suggest the CPI might hit a two-year low of 4.3% year-over-year, compared to 5.4% in the previous quarter. The Commonwealth Bank anticipates a headline inflation rise of 0.8% on a quarterly basis.

Before the inflation data, Tuesday will shed light on retail sales from December. The likes of AMP are predicting “weak” figures due to the cost-of-living squeeze and a higher base in November (owing to Black Friday and Cyber Monday).

In the US, the next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is scheduled for January 30 and 31. The global market eagerly awaits the US central bank’s decision on interest rates, which will be announced on Thursday AEDT.

Stocks on Watch

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), now the world’s most valuable publicly-listed company, is set to report earnings on Tuesday, US-time. Being at the forefront of the AI movement, the market will closely watch for growth indicators in Microsoft’s AI tools, especially in products like Bing and Office.

Joining Microsoft on Tuesday, Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) will also report earnings, providing further insights into the AI sector through their software and hardware developments, respectively.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is poised to release its earnings this week. With the quarter encompassing full sales for its iPhone 15, analysts and investors are looking to see if Apple can report its first year-over-year quarterly revenue gain in a year.

Other notable US earnings reports to look out for include Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), and pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer (NYSE: PFE), Merck (NYSE: MRK), Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO), AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), and Novartis (NYSE: NVS).

Finally, Australian supermarket giant Woolworths (ASX: WOW) is drawing attention after announcing major write-downs for its upcoming half-year results. This includes a $1.48 billion non-cash impairment due to challenging sales conditions in its New Zealand stores, and a $209 million loss on its stake in Endeavour Group.