Macro Outlook for Next Week: The Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision on Thursday, followed by a press conference with Chair Jerome Powell.

October 25: Looking back at the just-concluded week, market focus shifted twice within seven days. Early in the week, U.S. semiconductor and AI-related stocks stabilized and rebounded from their recent sharp declines, while capital rotated into healthcare and financial sectors. However, after Meta announced a massive capital expenditure plan on Wednesday, concerns quickly mounted over AI sector valuations and the sustainability of investment returns. By Thursday, selling pressure spread broadly across tech stocks, risk-aversion sentiment strengthened U.S. Treasuries and the Japanese yen, and a surprise geopolitical event—the Houthi attack on Saudi energy infrastructure—sent Brent crude prices surging to a five-month high.

Key events next week (all times in Beijing Time):
- Thursday, 02:00: The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announces its interest rate decision;
- Thursday, 02:30: Fed Chair Jerome Powell holds a monetary policy press conference;
- Thursday, 20:30: The U.S. releases several major economic indicators—Q3 advance real GDP annualized quarter-on-quarter growth, the September core PCE price index annual rate, the September PCE price index annual rate, initial jobless claims for the week ending October 24, and September personal spending month-on-month;
- Thursday, 21:15: The European Central Bank (ECB) announces its interest rate decision;
- Thursday, 21:45: ECB President Christine Lagarde holds a press conference;
- Friday: The Bank of Japan (BoJ) announces its interest rate decision;
- Friday, 14:30: BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda holds a press conference.

Meanwhile, U.S. equities are entering the most intense week of this earnings season—roughly one-third of S&P 500 constituents will report results. Microsoft and Alphabet will kick things off with after-market earnings releases next Wednesday, followed by Amazon’s after-market report on Thursday.