Source: Sharecast
On the corporate front, Verizon will release first-quarter earnings on Monday, while Tuesday sees the release of preliminary results from Card Factory, Q1 numbers from Barclays and BP, and trading updates from Taylor Wimpey, Travis Perkins and WPP.
On Wednesday, investors will eye Q1 results from AstraZeneca, GSK and Aston Martin, Q1 updates from Haleon, Melrose and Prudential, preliminary results from Lloyds and a Q1 new business announcement from St James’s Place.
In the US, four of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ are slated to report quarterly earnings, with Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta Platforms all set to release results.
Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said Amazon’s AWS likely to do much of the heavy lifting in the results, especially as AI demand continues to reshape cloud spending.
"Recent quarters have seen AWS growth pick back up to around the mid-20s, and the order backlog has risen as customers race to secure compute," he said.
"Meeting that demand means more investment. Amazon has pointed to roughly $200bn of capex this year, with the bulk directed at AWS infrastructure. Management argues that's what it takes to keep pace, that AI-related cloud revenue is already running at a strong clip, and they have good visibility on returns.
"But investors want a bit more proof, and the flip side is that a higher spend profile can lean on near-term cash flow and margins as depreciation rolls through. The e-commerce business is expected to keep ticking along nicely, so the most useful signals are likely to be AWS growth, margin commentary and any colour on longer-run returns as the investment cycle matures."
Investors will also be eyeing the latest policy announcement from the Fed on Wednesday amid expectations the policy rate will be maintained at 3.50-3.75%.
TD Securities said the labour market remains in balance while headline inflation has picked up due to the oil shock.
"Given the still-heightened level of uncertainty, we expect the Committee will reiterate a message of patience," it said. "Chair Powell is likely to remain neutral regarding future policy, and he is unlikely to provide any new comments regarding his succession. This was supposed to be his last meeting as chair, but that continues to look less likely."
On Thursday, Apple will be the fifth of the Mag 7 to release quarterly numbers, while in the UK, Endeavour will publish Q1 results, along with Standard Chartered, while Glencore will put out a Q1 production report.
Trading updates are due from Inchcape, Lancashire, Persimmon, Magnum Ice Cream and Unilever, along with FY results from Premier Inn owner Whitbread.
HL’s Matt Briztman said Apple will be reporting Q2 earnings against the backdrop of a stronger iPhone cycle and news that longtime chief executive Tim Cook will be passing the baton to product guru and another Apple veteran, John Ternus.
"This quarter's iPhone numbers should show whether recent momentum is sticking, and the timing of the CEO news could be a signal that the company is happy with the numbers it's about to put out," he said.
"Margins moved higher last quarter, helped by higher average prices as buyers continued to favour the more expensive models, a trend that appears to have continued this year. That richer mix should help soften some cost pressure, like higher memory pricing, without needing broad-based price rises.
"Looking ahead, the main question is whether the recent improvement in hardware demand can prove sustainable. Updates on the product cycle, services momentum, the pace of AI integration, and any hints on new device categories should help set expectations for how growth looks beyond the current cycle."
The latest policy announcements from the BoE and ECB are also scheduled for Thursday, with no change to rates expected from either.
As far as the BoE is concerned, Rabobank said that with markets having stabilised in recent weeks, it expects Bank Rate to be left unchanged at 3.75% at the April meeting and for the Bank to reiterate the vigilant stance set out in March.
"Even with the Strait of Hormuz still closed, energy prices have come in lower than expected," it said. "If sustained, this would warrant a small downward revision to our near-term inflation forecast.
"A smaller inflation impulse reduces the risk of entrenched inflation, although the outlook is uncertain. The April PMI does point to broader supply-side concerns.
"Even so, the domestic backdrop differs markedly from 2022: demand is considerably weaker, policy is already restrictive, and initial conditions are less conducive to second-round effects.
"While we still expect one further rate hike to demonstrate vigilance, we continue to believe the bar for a renewed hiking cycle is high."
On the ECB, ING said: "Markets have two convictions: that the ECB will hold in April, and it will hike in June. We don’t expect either of them to be challenged at next week’s meeting.
"The rates market may also have little reason to revise expectations for two hikes in 2026. It’s a supporting argument for the euro, but not enough to edge out global equities and oil as the main drivers."
Friday will bring Q1 results from NatWest and a trading update from educational publisher Pearson.
In the US, both ExxonMobil and Chevron will release Q1 numbers.