The equity market week was dominated by interest rate decisions in the US and Eurozone

In the new stock market week, investors look ahead to interest rate decisions from the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB). They are likely to raise interest rates again to prevent high inflation. It will be very interesting to see what central banks say about possible additional interest rate measures later this year.

In the US, the Fed will stop raising interest rates after the upcoming interest rate meeting. In fact, with many economists predicting that the U.S. will slip into a mild recession later this year, there are growing signs that the U.S. economy is slowing. Experts generally expect the Fed to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point now.

In the euro zone, although opinion is divided on how much interest rates should be raised, several interest rate steps seem necessary anyway. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently called on the ECB to keep raising interest rates until the middle of next year.

Also, as the stock markets close on Monday, May 1, the stock market week in Europe will be slightly lower, dominated by inflation figures from various countries and quarterly figures from major companies. DSM and BAM, among others, will deliver results on Damrak.

This is also the case for Air France-KLM, which is benefiting from increased demand for air travel and recently left the term with the government’s corona state support. Despite criticism from the Dutch government, it was recently announced that CEO Ben Smith was paid millions of euros in bonuses over the past year.

Apple’s new quarterly report in the US is eye-catching. In the last quarter of 2022, the technology team is still plagued by production issues at a major factory in China. A weak economy also troubled the company.

Also, there is an eye on the banking sector. The U.S. government has asked several financial firms to bid to take over ailing First Republic Bank this weekend. Earlier this year, there was a lot of unrest around mid-sized banks in the US. Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed in quick succession as customers withdrew large sums of money from their accounts within days. The First Republic actually suffers from the same problem and therefore needs to be rescued.