What are today's top business/market headlines?

Today is a major day for global financial markets, defined by highly anticipated corporate earnings from some of the world's largest tech giants and the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.

1. Federal Reserve Policy Decision & The Dollar

•Fed Rate "Hold" Highly Expected: The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), chaired by Kevin Warsh, is concluding its two-day policy meeting today. A rate "hold" is widely expected, with the CME FedWatch tool putting the probability of a hike at this meeting at just under 13%.

•Focus on December Guidance: Instead of today's decision, investors are closely watching for clues regarding the December meeting, where the market currently prices in a roughly 70% to 91% probability of a policy move.

•US Dollar and Inflation Pressures: The US dollar held near a two-week high ahead of the Fed’s announcement. Contributing to inflationary worries is the elevated price of crude oil and refined fuels, with diesel hovering around $6.35 per gallon due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

2. Big Tech Earnings: Alphabet and Microsoft in the Spotlight

Today is the heaviest day by market value of this earnings season, led by two titans reporting after the market close:

•Alphabet (GOOGL): Wall Street expects Alphabet to report Q3 revenue of approximately $127.4 billion to $127.9 billion (a 25% year-over-year increase) and earnings per share (EPS) of about $3.02. The primary metrics under scrutiny will be its massive AI-related capital expenditures—guidance sits at $195 billion to $205 billion for 2026—and whether Google Cloud margins are successfully translating into solid operating cash flow.

•Microsoft (MSFT): Microsoft is expected to post fiscal first-quarter revenue of roughly $90.6 billion (up 17% year-over-year) and adjusted EPS of $4.72. Investors will be looking closely at Azure's constant-currency growth rate (expected to hover around 44% to 45%) and the monetization of its Copilot AI software to offset capital expenditures, which are expected to exceed $50 billion this quarter alone.

3. Visa Hits Record $46 Billion in Annual Revenue

•Resilient Consumer Spending: Payments giant Visa reported record annual revenue of $46 billion for its fiscal year 2026, beating Wall Street expectations.

•For its final quarter, net revenue rose 13% year-over-year to $12.1 billion. Visa’s management noted that consumer spending on travel, shopping, and dining remains robust despite persistent inflation, with no signs of spending fatigue among lower-income brackets.

4. Apple Unveils the iMac with M6 Chip

•AI-Focused Hardware Upgrades: Apple officially announced its new all-in-one iMac powered by the new M6 processor. The desktop features deep integration with the next-generation Apple Intelligence and a Dual 16-core Neural Engine designed to run localized AI models. Pre-orders for the new hardware begin today, October 28, with retail availability starting on Friday, November 6.

5. Global Market Sentiment

•Wall Street and Global Stock Indices: US stock futures pointed slightly higher ahead of the opening bell as investors processed the tidal wave of earnings. Meanwhile, European and Asian indices traded cautiously, with India's Sensex and Nifty 50 closing flat on lingering crude oil volatility, and European shares steadying as they await the Fed's afternoon decision.

Citations (12)

1kalkine.com.auNews and media
kalkine.com.au
Backs: “Today is a major day for global financial markets, defined by highly anticipated corporate earnings from some of the world's largest tech giants and the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.”
background, article. Claim: Today is a major day for global markets, with big tech earnings and the conclusion of the Fed's policy meeting.
2stocktitan.netData and tools
stocktitan.net
Backs: “Today is a major day for global financial markets, defined by highly anticipated corporate earnings from some of the world's largest tech giants and the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.”
background, article. Claim: Today is a major day for global markets, with big tech earnings and the conclusion of the Fed's policy meeting.
3businesstoday.com.myNews and media
businesstoday.com.my
Backs: “A rate "hold" is widely expected, with the CME FedWatch tool putting the probability of a hike at this meeting at just under 13%.”
statistic, article. Claim: Fed rate hold widely expected; CME FedWatch puts probability of a hike at just under 13%.
4ndtvprofit.comNews and media
ndtvprofit.com
Backs: “Contributing to inflationary worries is the elevated price of crude oil and refined fuels, with diesel hovering around $6.35 per gallon due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. 2.”
evidence, article. Claim: Elevated crude oil and fuel prices, with diesel around $6.35 per gallon, add to inflation worries amid Middle East tensions.
5dailyrecordnews.comNews and mediaquality 0.64
dailyrecordnews.com
Backs: “Contributing to inflationary worries is the elevated price of crude oil and refined fuels, with diesel hovering around $6.35 per gallon due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. 2.”
statistic, article. Claim: Elevated crude oil and fuel prices, with diesel around $6.35 per gallon, add to inflation worries amid Middle East tensions.
6coindcx.comCompanies
coindcx.com
Backs: “Alphabet (GOOGL): Wall Street expects Alphabet to report Q3 revenue of approximately $127.4 billion to $127.9 billion (a 25% year-over-year increase) and earnings per share (EPS) of about $3.02. The primary metrics under scrutiny will be its massive AI-related capital expenditures—guidance sits at $195 billion to $205…”
statistic, article. Claim: Wall Street expects Alphabet Q3 revenue of about $127.4-127.9 billion, up 25%, and EPS of about $3.02.
7tipranks.comData and tools
tipranks.com
Backs: “The primary metrics under scrutiny will be its massive AI-related capital expenditures—guidance sits at $195 billion to $205 billion for 2026—and whether Google Cloud margins are successfully translating into solid operating cash flow. Microsoft (MSFT): Microsoft is expected to post fiscal first-quarter revenue of…”
statistic, article. Claim: Alphabet's AI capital expenditure guidance of $195-205 billion for 2026 and Google Cloud margins are key metrics.
8seekingalpha.comNews and mediaquality 0.69
seekingalpha.com
Backs: “The primary metrics under scrutiny will be its massive AI-related capital expenditures—guidance sits at $195 billion to $205 billion for 2026—and whether Google Cloud margins are successfully translating into solid operating cash flow. Microsoft (MSFT): Microsoft is expected to post fiscal first-quarter revenue of…”
statistic, article. Claim: Alphabet's AI capital expenditure guidance of $195-205 billion for 2026 and Google Cloud margins are key metrics.
9tradingkey.comData and tools
tradingkey.com
Backs: “Microsoft (MSFT): Microsoft is expected to post fiscal first-quarter revenue of roughly $90.6 billion (up 17% year-over-year) and adjusted EPS of $4.72. Investors will be looking closely at Azure's constant-currency growth rate (expected to hover around 44% to 45%) and the monetization of its Copilot AI software to…”
statistic, article. Claim: Microsoft expected to post fiscal Q1 revenue of about $90.6 billion, up 17%, and adjusted EPS of $4.72.
10morningstar.comData and tools
morningstar.com
Backs: “Investors will be looking closely at Azure's constant-currency growth rate (expected to hover around 44% to 45%) and the monetization of its Copilot AI software to offset capital expenditures, which are expected to exceed $50 billion this quarter alone. 3.”
statistic, article. Claim: Azure constant-currency growth expected around 44-45%, Copilot monetization watched, capital expenditures expected to exceed $50 billion this quarter.
11businesstoday.com.myNews and media
businesstoday.com.my
Backs: “Resilient Consumer Spending: Payments giant Visa reported record annual revenue of $46 billion for its fiscal year 2026, beating Wall Street expectations. For its final quarter, net revenue rose 13% year-over-year to $12.1 billion.”
statistic, article. Claim: Visa reported record annual revenue of $46 billion for fiscal 2026, beating Wall Street expectations.
12apple.comCompanies
apple.com
Backs: “AI-Focused Hardware Upgrades: Apple officially announced its new all-in-one iMac powered by the new M6 processor. The desktop features deep integration with the next-generation Apple Intelligence and a Dual 16-core Neural Engine designed to run localized AI models.”
evidence, official document. Claim: Apple announced its new all-in-one iMac powered by the M6 processor.