Markets face the year's final major policy week as the Federal Reserve's December meeting Wednesday afternoon will determine whether the central bank delivers another rate cut or pauses its easing cycle amid mixed economic signals and persistent inflation concerns. Chair Powell's 2:30pm press conference following the 2:00pm rate decision will be critical for establishing the Fed's 2026 policy roadmap and dot plot projections that could significantly influence market expectations heading into the new year.
The week features a quite but strong earnings lineup with enterprise software giants Oracle (ORCL) and Adobe (ADBE) reporting Wednesday, followed by retail powerhouse Costco (COST) and semiconductor leader Broadcom (AVGO) Thursday.
