Fed Decision, PCE and Big Tech Earnings Pack Next Week's Calendar

The Federal Reserve announces its next rate decision at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Oct. 28, and September inflation data lands less than 24 hours later. Markets get very little time to catch their breath.

The Fed's two-day meeting runs Oct. 27 and 28, per its official calendar, with Chair Kevin Warsh's press conference at 2:30 p.m. Markets are not pricing a hike this month and expect the next increase in December, according to CMC Markets. The Fed raised rates in September, AP reported.

Inflation the morning after

The Commerce Department releases September personal consumption expenditures data at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 29, alongside the first estimate of third-quarter GDP, according to Yahoo Finance and CMC Markets. PCE is the Fed's preferred inflation gauge.

CMC Markets expects headline PCE to rise to 3.6% year over year from 3.4%. It sees core PCE, which strips out food and energy, at 3.1% from 3.0%. So the Fed sets policy Wednesday without the number it likes best, then reads it over coffee Thursday.

Earnings and other central banks

Alphabet and Microsoft report Wednesday, and Amazon, Intel and Caterpillar follow Thursday, per CMC Markets. The Bank of Canada also decides Wednesday, the European Central Bank on Thursday and the Bank of Japan on Friday.

Bitcoin traded near $80,500 early Saturday, according to CoinGecko. It has tended to trade with tech stocks on big macro days.

Our read: Three central banks, the Fed's favorite inflation report and the biggest tech names, all in 72 hours. Nobody is going to call this one quiet.