Lloyds Banking Group, GSK, upgraded FY guidance

The Federal Reserve

The Federal Reserve (Fed) will conclude its July meeting on Wednesday evening. Wall Street expects the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to resume its hiking campaign after a one-month hiatus, raising its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to a range of 5.25% to 5.50%, the highest band since 2001. This move is fully priced in, so too much volatility is to be expected at the announcement. Only guidance could move the market.

Reserve Bank of Australia

There seems to be less pressure on the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)'s shoulders after the release of the central bank's quarterly inflation data. The trimmed mean CPI, the RBA's preferred reading, decelerated to 0.9% in Q2 year-over-year (YOY) from 1.2% the previous quarter. Economists were anticipating 1.1%. Rate futures are now pricing in a 25% chance of a quarter-point hike at the bank's next meeting, compared with 50% before the data release.

Lloyds Banking Group and GSK

Lloyds Banking Group and GSK upgraded their full-year guidance as they reported earnings for the first half. NatWest CEO Alison Rose stepped down with immediate effect on Wednesday. Rose admitted to a "serious error of judgement" in discussing former Brexit party leader Nigel Farage's relationship with the bank with a BBC journalist. Over the past few days, NatWest has faced intense scrutiny over a decision by its private bank, Coutts, to close Farage's accounts.

LVMH

Elsewhere in Europe, global luxury brand house LVMH reported after the European market closed on Tuesday a surprising drop in Q2 US sales, sliding 1% in the period compared to last year. After posting better than expected results, Deutsche Bank says it will resume share buybacks of as much as €450 million this year as part of a pledge to return capital to shareholders over several years.

Just Eat Takeaway

And Just Eat Takeaway swings to profit after posting an adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA ) of €143 million for the first half of 2023.

Alphabet

Over in the US, Google owner Alphabet rose in extended trading on Tuesday after the company reported a good set of numbers for the second quarter, driven by growth in its cloud computing unit.

Microsoft

Microsoft posted revenue up 8% to $56.20 billion, expecting revenue of $55.44 billion. earning per share (EPS) was up 21% to $2.69, also beating forecast. Azure growth slowed to 27 percent in constant currency terms in the latest period, at the top end of the company's guidance but down from 31 percent in the first three months of 2023 and 46 percent a year ago.

Snap

Snap's share price dropped in extended trading after the group gave weaker third-quarter guidance than analysts had expected. It estimates Q3 revenue will be between $1.07 billion and $1.13 billion. Analysts were expecting revenue of $1.13 billion, at the top end of the guidance range. Today, the market expects quarterly reports from Boeing and Meta Platforms, among others.