Investors are preparing for a very busy week with quarterly results from companies such as Apple, Google parent Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Facebook parent company Meta. The agenda in Amsterdam is well packed with figures from Philips, Randstad, KPN, PC and Unilever. There is also data on economic growth in the Eurozone and the United States in the first quarter.

In addition, investors are monitoring the results of the French presidential election. President Emmanuel Macron is ahead of Marine Le Pen, who ran against him. Sunday afternoon voting is slightly lower than the 2017 election, when Macron and Le Pen competed against each other.

The earnings season in the stock markets is currently at its peak. The focus of investors is, among other things, on the impact of high inflation and supply chain problems. The effects of the Ukraine war are also being explored. Expectations throughout this year are very important.

Other foreign companies with results include McDonald’s, PepsiCo, UBS, Deutsche Bank, Mercedes-Benz, Caterpillar, Harley-Davidson, TotalEnergies, Mattel, ExxonMobil and Twitter. Damrak also includes quarterly reports from Signify, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Heijmans, IMCD and Corbion.

In the second half of the week, the first estimates will be released on the growth of the US and Eurozone economies. From this one can learn, among other things, what the impact of the war in Ukraine was on the economy.

In addition, Eurostat, the European Statistics Office, will provide an initial estimate of inflation in April. Inflation is high due to the sharp rise in energy prices. If inflation rises further, the European Central Bank (ECB) may soon be forced to raise interest rates. Fears prevailed in stock markets last week that the US Federal Reserve may raise interest rates further to curb inflation.

The Amsterdam AEX index ended 1.6 percent lower at 717.26 points on Friday due to fears of interest rates. Midcap was down 2.9 percent at 1060.47 points. London, Paris and Frankfurt stocks fell 2.4 percent. New York’s key indicators ended with a 2.8 percent decline. Oil prices also entered red over the weekend.