With the BOJ out of the way, investors will now be waiting for the Federal Reserve to indicate that rate cuts in the U.S. are around the corner even if the central bank stands pat on rates later on Wednesday.
The risk is, of course, that the Fed is unwilling to commit to rate cuts, with markets having already priced in 68 basis points of easing this year.
But before that, the euro zone’s inflation report will be the main economic focus for the day and comes after data on Tuesday showed the economy in the region grew slightly more than expected in the three months to June.
Meanwhile, quarterly results from major tech firms are highlighting a divide in the AI landscape as chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices reported strong earnings and Samsung Electronics anticipated robust demand for chips in the second half of this year.
In contrast, Microsoft disappointed investors with its slow cloud growth suggesting that the payoff from the billions in AI investments may take longer than investors might have hoped.
