Today’s session will be dominated by central bank decisions , with the most important events scheduled for the second half of the day. First, the Bank of Canada will announce its policy decision and publish a new Monetary Policy Report. Markets will focus not only on the level of interest rates, but above all on the Bank’s assessment of inflationary pressures, economic growth, and signals regarding the future path of monetary policy. Even more important will be the Federal Reserve’s decision later in the day. The consensus expects the federal funds target range to remain unchanged at 3.75–4.00% , meaning the market reaction is likely to depend primarily on the FOMC statement and press conference. Investors will pay particular attention to any signals regarding the Fed’s next move in December. Earlier in the day, investors will also monitor US trade data and the weekly EIA report on crude oil and gasoline inventories . Another source of volatility could come from the start of earnings releases from the largest US technology companies. Among those reporting today are Alphabet and Microsoft .

Macroeconomic Calendar

• 12:30 PM GMT – US: goods trade balance for September – expected -$130bn , previous -$132.6bn
• 01:45 PM GMT – Canada: Bank of Canada interest rate decision – expected 2.50%, previous 2.25%
• 01:45 PM GMT – Canada: release of the BoC Monetary Policy Report
• 02:30 PM GMT – US: weekly crude oil inventory change – expected decline of around 0.3mn barrels , previous -3.06mn
• 02:30 PM GMT – US: weekly gasoline inventory change – expected decline of around 0.9mn barrels , previous -2.95mn
• 06:00 PM GMT – US: Fed interest rate decision – expected target range 3.75–4.00%, unchanged
• 06:30 PM GMT – US: FOMC press conference

Largest Companies Reporting Today

• Alphabet (GOOGL.US, Nasdaq 100) – market cap approx. $4.21tn
• Microsoft (MSFT.US, Nasdaq 100) – market cap approx. $3.81tn
• KLA Corp (KLAC.US, Nasdaq 100) – market cap approx. $257.8bn
• GE Vernova (GEV.US, S&P 500) – market cap approx. $253.1bn
• Banco Santander (SAN1.ES, Euro Stoxx 50) – market cap approx. $200.5bn
• T-Mobile US (TMUS.US, Nasdaq 100) – market cap approx. $175.3bn
• Airbus (AIR.FR, Euro Stoxx 50) – market cap approx. $171.3bn
• ServiceNow (NOW.US, S&P 500) – market cap approx. $138.5bn
• Fortinet (FTNT.US, Nasdaq 100) – market cap approx. $131.1bn
• BNP Paribas (BNP.FR, Euro Stoxx 50) – market cap approx. $118.2bn