Wall Street is scrambling for a big week ahead, including Big Tech earnings, a key Federal Reserve meeting, and a key meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that could set the tone for the rest of the year. Stocks are on pace to end a strong October next week. On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above $47,000 for the first time, and the S&P 500 index topped $6,800 on an intraday basis. The Nasdaq Composite Index has outperformed this month, rising more than 20% year-to-date. This is an incredible feat considering what the market has had to overcome just this month. the ongoing government shutdown, concerns about the U.S.-China trade war, potential systemic credit risks, a weak labor market and rising inflation, and weak seasonality. Next week’s earnings results for five of the Magnificent Seven (Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft) could either keep the party going or deliver a big hit to stock prices, depending on how profits flow from the market’s most dominant companies. These five stocks alone account for about a quarter of the entire S&P 500’s value. “Earnings are going to drive the bus going forward, especially these five earnings, and Nvidia’s earnings coming in three or four weeks, and you can’t (overstate) their importance as we move into the end of the year,” said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. “This will prepare us for what will hopefully be the end of 2025 and into 2026.”Next week’s financial report will determine the winners and laggards going forward. Over the past three months, Apple and Alphabet have significantly outperformed, up 23% and 35%, respectively. Apple has faced tariff headwinds and questions over its artificial intelligence strategy, and its results have been weak this year despite recent momentum. Tim Cook’s $3.9 trillion company will need to prove in its upcoming financial results that the iPhone 17 lineup is unlocking a new product cycle. Similarly, Alphabet’s stock price growth could continue as long as its earnings continue to grow. Conversely, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft have lagged the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite over the past three months. Amazon is down 3%, Meta is up 3%, Microsoft is up more than 2%, while the Nasdaq Composite Index is leading by more than 10%. All three companies need to prove they can meet investors’ high expectations. “Let’s see if that momentum can continue with the two leaders of that five-company group (Apple and Alphabet), and then see if the laggards can get an opening to join the party these days,” Woods said. “Last year, they were doing well, but they hit the pause button.” Woods predicts the real story in the market may lie in the ongoing rotations underneath, such as health care and materials. He said he will be keeping a close eye on stocks such as PPG and Sherwin-Williams, as well as United Healthcare. The latest results could add further bullish optimism to the company’s already strong start to its performance. Of the roughly 145 S&P 500 companies that have reported third-quarter results so far, 84% beat expectations, according to FactSet data. Composite third-quarter earnings growth is now 9%. Fed Meeting Aside from revenue, there are other hurdles to overcome, including the Oct. 28-29 Fed meeting. Wall Street is confident of the outcome, with the federal funds futures market pricing in a 0.5 point cut in the federal funds rate from 3.75% to 4.00% next week, according to interest rate futures trading tracked by the CME FedWatch tool. But the uncertainty created by the lack of government economic data due to the government shutdown means what Fed Chairman Jerome Powell says in his post-board press conference laying out his outlook for the rest of the year is even more important. A weaker-than-expected September consumer price data released on Friday also raised the possibility of a December rate cut, but other investors fear the lack of federal jobs data means the central bank’s outlook could become more hawkish. That would be a big disappointment for markets expecting two more rate cuts this year, next week and in December. A continued government shutdown could also weigh on the outlook for monetary policy, Woods said. “If there is no resolution to the shutdown by the end of next week, it could cause havoc in markets. That means the Fed could use the shutdown as an excuse not to take further action because it doesn’t have the right data it needs.” APEC meeting Next week, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will also be held in South Korea, where President Trump and President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet. If good news comes out at the meeting, the stock market could rise. Just this month, Wall Street suffered a rude awakening, with the Dow dropping nearly 900 points on Oct. 10 following President Trump’s “Truth Social” post that heightened tensions between the two countries, and two days later another post reassured investors. It was a reminder that the trade war between the world’s two largest economies remains a threat to the status quo. If Wall Street can get through these talks and overcome any hurdles next week, many investors expect the market’s bullish fundamentals to regain control. They expect strong earnings, a resilient economy and low interest rates could boost stock prices. However, a short-term rebound is not out of the question. Investors are mindful of vulnerabilities in expensive markets, with signs of bubbling in more speculative areas such as meme stocks and quantum computing stocks, and are rebalancing their portfolios to add exposure to defensive sectors that look more attractive after lag in 2025. One example is health care. The materials are different. Even for companies with consumer discretionary control, there is potential if consumers can continue to spend even if inflation rates rise. But if all goes well, the decline could set the market up for further gains. Woods said he expects the S&P 500 index could top 7,000 as the market heads into the holiday season. “Next week is one of those weeks where you have to buckle up and put on your helmet, because it could get very interesting,” Woods said. Week Ahead Calendar All Time (ET). Earnings for Monday, October 27th: Waste Management, Universal Health Services, Nucor, Alexandria Real Estate Stocks, Keurig Dr. Pepper Earnings for Tuesday, October 28th: Mondelez International, Edison International, Electronic Arts, Booking Holdings, Visa, PPG Industries, Cisco, Ecolab, Hubbell, Sherwin-Williams, Invesco, American Tower, AO Smith, LabCorp, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, United Parcel Service, UnitedHealth Group, Royal Caribbean Group, PayPal Holdings , NextEra Energy , IQVIA Holdings , Corning , DR Horton Wednesday, October 29th 2:00 p.m. FOMC meeting 2:00 p.m. Federal funds return target: MGM Resorts International , ServiceNow , Chipotle Mexican Grill , Starbucks , public storage , Align Technology , Tyler Technology , Prudential Financial , Microsoft , MetaPlatform , KLA , Invitation Home , Alphabet , Additional Space Storage , eBay , Avalon Bay Community , Boeing , Phillips 66 , Kraft Heinz , Verizon Communications , CVS Health , Caterpillar , Old Dominion Freight Lines , Generac Holdings , GE Healthcare Technologies , Automatic Data Processing Earnings for Thursday, October 30: Apple , Edwards Lifesciences , Gilead Sciences , Monolithic Power Systems , Amazon , Western Digital , Motorola Solutions , Ingersoll Rand , GoDaddy , First Solar , DexCom, Coinbase Global, Keranova, Ameriprise Financial, S&P Global, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Baxter International, Altria Group, Howmet Aerospace, Hershey , Comcast , Bristol-Myers Squibb , Kimco Realty , Eli Lilly , Estee Lauder Companies , Merck & Co. , Kimberly-Clark , Cigna Group , Vulcan Materials , Quanta Services , Mastercard , L3Harris Technologies , International Paper , DTE Energy , Cardinal Health , Biogen Friday, October 31 earnings: Dominion Energy , T. Rowe Price Group , Charter Communications , ExxonMobil, Chevron, Colgate-Palmolive, AbbVie
