This week’s the Olympics for market watchers

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., July 21, 2025.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Choose a front-row seat and grab your popcorn. These five days will basically be the Olympics for market watchers:

  • Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple are reporting earnings.
  • The U.S. Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee is meeting.
  • The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's preferred inflation reading, comes out.
  • U.S. jobs data for July will be released.

And looming over all those financial and macroeconomic events is U.S. President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline for his new tariffs.

As Kim Forrest, founder at Bokeh Capital, said, "What isn't happening in this week?"

Here's the ideal scenario for investors.

The Magnificent Seven companies reporting earnings this week and the U.S. economy secure gold at their respective events. (The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged — whether this qualifies the central bank for a medal is up for debate).

Big trading partners of the U.S., such as South Korea and India, secure a deal with the White House and join the European Union and Japan at the podium, while Beijing extends its tariff suspension with Washington.

If those events happen, U.S. stocks will probably have legs clear hurdle after hurdle — and the S&P 500 can continue topping record tables.

— CNBC's Sarah Min contributed to this report

What you need to know today

Trump announces a trade agreement with the European Union. Most European goods, including cars, exported to the U.S. will face a 15% tariff, Trump said Sunday. The bloc also agreed to purchase $750 billion worth of U.S. energy, he added.

Samsung inks a $16.5 billion contract with Tesla. While the South Korean firm didn't disclose the counterparty in its regulatory filing, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed that it will manufacture the automaker's "next-generation AI6 chip."

Perfect week for the S&P 500. The broad-based index rose Friday to close at a high — its fifth record in a row last week. The Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average also advanced. Asia-Pacific shares were mixed Monday.

The Fed is ready to start lowering rates, Trump said. On Friday, the U.S. president said Fed Chair Jerome Powell told him "the country is doing well," which Trump took to mean "he's going to start recommending lower rates." Futures markets disagree.

[PRO] Winners of Hong Kong's crypto framework. The island's bill, which takes effect Friday, formalizes the process for financial companies to issue and manage stablecoins. Two online brokerages which offer crypto trading stand to benefit, analysts said.

And finally...

Tesla vehicles are lined up at a vehicle storage yard at an industrial port, on the day U.S. President Donald Trump struck a trade deal with Japan that lowers tariffs on auto imports, in Yokohama, near Tokyo, Japan, July 23, 2025.

Kim Kyung-hoon | Reuters

Trump’s tariff deal offers scant relief for Japan automakers as bigger threat looms

Japanese automakers may have sidestepped crushing U.S. tariffs, but the reprieve may offer little comfort. Their position in the global market is being eroded by Chinese automakers even as they face persistent structural challenges domestically.

Still, analysts acknowledge that Trump's finalized tariff rate brings at least one benefit: some predictability.

— Lee Ying Shan


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