ECONOMIC WEEK AHEAD: April 27-May 1

This is one of the busiest weeks of the year on the economic calendar. Five major central banks meet: the Fed, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Canada, the European Central Bank, and the Bank of England. Five mega-cap tech names report earnings: Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple. Wednesday brings the advance Q1-2025 GDP report, and Thursday the March PCED, which will show how much of the oil shock has hit the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. There will also be plenty of fresh survey data, with regional business surveys complementing Friday's national M-PMI print, plus the Conference Board's April Consumer Confidence Index, all on tape.

The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by both the US and Iran remains the overriding issue. Both the US and Iran declined to meet in Islamabad this weekend. The price of a barrel of Brent crude closed at $105.33 on Friday, almost $20 above last week's low (chart).