The week ahead

World sharemarkets remained in an upbeat mood last week, with the S&P 500 in the US rising another 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up ten days in a row, its best winning streak since 2017. Looking ahead, a very busy five days loom, with flash PMIs set to take the pulse of global growth on Monday, then three major central bank meetings later in the week. The Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are both expected to raise interest rates by another 0.25% each, while we'll hear from the Bank of Japan on Friday as well. Corporate earnings will also be in focus, with more than 160 S&P 500 companies scheduled to report quarterly results. Among others, we'll hear from tech heavyweights Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta, as well as some of the oil majors and consumer-facing businesses like Unilever, Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Procter & Gamble.