Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Tuesday, July 30:
1. Fed kicks off meeting; consumer, housing data on tap
The Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day policy meeting with markets expecting the first U.S. interest rates cut in more than a decade.
With a quarter-point cut priced in, markets will likely focus on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s indications for the future path of monetary policy. Fed funds futures project another cut to arrive in September with the odds for a third in December above 50%.
On the economic agenda, the consumer - the strongest prop to the U.S. economy recently - will return to center stage. Personal income and spending data for June will be released at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT), followed by the Conference Board’s July reading of consumer confidence at 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT).
Traders will also receive an update on the state of the U.S. housing market with the publication of pending home sales for June.
2. Apple, AMD in spotlight after Beyond Meat disappointment
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will report third-quarter earnings after the closing bell. Markets are hoping its services segment - led by iCloud, Apple Music and the App Store - can reduce its dependence on iPhone sales, which make up about 60% of total revenue.
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) will also report after the market close amid a better-than-expected PC environment and a more sanguine backdrop for the broader sector, reflected in positive updates from chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor, Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) and Intel (NASDAQ:INTC). AMD's guidance should reveal whether it still expects revenue growth of just under 10% this year.
Shares in Beyond Meat (NASDAQ:BYND) tumbled more than 12% in premarket trade after it reported mixed quarterly numbers and announced a 3.25 million share offering, just three months after going public. Some analysts indicated that investors were looking for an excuse to take profit on a gain of more than 700% since its initial public offering.
3. U.S. futures turn negative on dim European outlook
U.S. futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street, erasing small overnight gains, as a series of negative outlooks and data from Europe, underlining the economic weakness that European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said last week was "getting worse and worse."
German giants Bayer (DE:BAYGN) and Lufthansa (DE:LHAG) both gave cautious forecasts. A GfK survey added to the angst, showing that German consumer morale worsened for the third month in a row heading into August as trade disputes bit in Europe's biggest exporter.
Eurozone business confidence also fell to its lowest in almost six years in July.
4. Oil prices extend rally ahead of inventories
Brent oil extended a four-day rally while U.S. crude traded higher for the fourth day out of the last five on expectations of Fed action that will support the economy and consequently fuel demand for oil.
On the calendar, the American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly data on crude stockpiles ahead of official government data from the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.
Consensus is looking for a seventh straight weekly draw of 1.82 million barrels. Last week, the EIA data showed a plunge of nearly 11 million barrels that did little to boost prices as analysts suggested the draw was distorted by the passing of Hurricane Barry.
5. BoJ, Brexit move currency markets as U.S. dollar firms ahead of Fed
A swirl of factors buffeted currency markets ahead of the start of the Fed meeting.
The yen hit intraday highs against the dollar after the Bank of Japan kept its key overnight rate unchanged at -0.1%. The BoJ did revise down its forecast for inflation and repeated its guidance to take additional easing measures if necessary, but some had speculated that it could extend its promise for extremely low rates to beyond spring of 2020.
The pound remained under pressure, hitting a new 28-month low against the dollar, as newly appointed British Prime Minister Boris Johnson doubled-down on his opposition to the Irish backstop, an insurance policy that aims to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
The U.S. dollar index hit a two-week high.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.