Global financial markets are bracing for a “Super Week” of tightly packed events, with monetary policy decisions, tech giant earnings, and geopolitical developments converging. The European Central Bank (ECB) will announce its latest interest rate decision, setting the macroeconomic tone. Four major US-listed giants—Google, Tesla, Intel, and IBM—will report results en masse, testing the strength of demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and traditional semiconductors. China’s new energy leader, CATL, will also unveil its report card, serving as a critical barometer for the Asian battery supply chain.
Simultaneously, AI industry catalysts are landing one after another, with AMD’s “Advancing AI” conference and the official launch of DeepSeek V4 expected to ignite another wave of technological fervor. On the political front, UK Labour Party leader Andy Burnham officially assumes the role of Prime Minister, while the evolving situation between the US and Iran warrants attention.
ECB Rate Decision and Global Economic Data
The European Central Bank will announce its interest rate decision on July 23. The market widely expects the central bank to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at this meeting. The post-meeting monetary policy statement and press conference by President Christine Lagarde will be the main focus, with investors closely watching for her latest assessment of the Eurozone’s inflation path. Industry research indicates that while easing inflation in the Eurozone in June eliminated the need for an emergency rate hike, the possibility of a hike in September remains due to persistently high commodity prices.
Beyond the ECB, emerging market central banks from Russia, South Africa, Turkey, and Indonesia will also announce rate decisions next week. In Asia, China will release its latest Loan Prime Rate (LPR) on July 20. As of June this year, China’s LPR has remained unchanged for 13 consecutive months, with the 1-year and 5-year-plus LPRs standing at 3.0% and 3.5%, respectively. Japan will publish its national Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June on July 24, with market expectations for the core CPI year-over-year growth to rise to 1.5% from the previous 1.4%, primarily driven by higher energy prices.
Semiconductor powerhouse South Korea will provide an early signal for global trade: it will release export data for the first 20 days of July on July 21 and its preliminary second-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on July 23. Industry research estimates that South Korea’s quarter-over-quarter GDP growth may slow significantly to 0.4% from 1.8% in the previous period. Even with strong AI semiconductor demand, production capacity bottlenecks are suppressing actual growth in chip export volumes. The United States will release its preliminary S&P Global Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for July on July 24, offering an early window into the month’s economic performance.
US Tech Giant Earnings Week: AI Monetization and Foundry Success Determine Fate
Earnings season enters its climax next week, with critical tests arriving for both the technology and new energy sectors.
The main event occurs after the US market close on July 22, when Google, Tesla, Texas Instruments, and IBM simultaneously unveil their results. Market focus is centered on the growth rate of Google’s cloud business and its ability to monetize AI, Tesla’s gross margin recovery following a wave of price cuts, and supply-demand shifts in Texas Instruments’ analog chip market.
Among these, IBM’s results are causing particular market anxiety. IBM’s board recently chose to proactively disclose an early warning for its second-quarter performance, with the CEO publicly admitting, “We stumbled this quarter,” causing the company’s stock to plummet 25% in a single day. Analysts point out that whether IBM further lowers its full-year financial guidance will determine if the software sector faces a second wave of selling, making every word of its earnings call a focal point for the entire market.
Following this, Intel will release its latest results after the US market close on July 23. Investors will rigorously scrutinize the progress of its wafer foundry business and the concrete results of its competition with NVIDIA and AMD in the AI accelerator market.
In Asia, China’s battery leader CATL (300750.SZ) will report its results on July 24. Against the backdrop of accelerating overseas expansion, changes in its gross margin and market share will directly impact the global electric vehicle and energy storage industries.
Below is the schedule for key tech stock earnings releases and conference calls next week (Taipei/Beijing time):
CompanyRelease Date (US After-Market)Conference Call Time (Beijing Time)GoogleJuly 22July 23, 04:30TeslaJuly 22July 23, 05:30Texas Instruments (TI)July 22July 23, 04:30IBMJuly 22Around July 23, 05:00IntelJuly 23July 24, 05:00
Note: IBM’s conference call is typically held half an hour after its earnings release.
AI industry catalysts are densely packed next week. AMD will host its “Advancing AI” conference in San Francisco, USA, from July 22 to 23. CEO Lisa Su is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech at 00:30 Beijing time on July 24. The industry expects Su to reveal details of the Zen 6 processor architecture and update the roadmap for next-generation AI accelerators, competing head-to-head with rivals in the data center market.
China’s AI scene is equally exciting. The DeepSeek team has announced that the official V4 version is planned for a mid-July launch, making the entire next week a highly anticipated release window. Notably, DeepSeek will simultaneously introduce a “peak-valley pricing strategy” this time. During peak hours from 9 AM to 12 PM and 2 PM to 6 PM daily, Application Programming Interface (API) prices will double, while off-peak periods will maintain the original price—a move seen as a critical step in its commercialization process.
Furthermore, the 2026 International Low-Altitude Economy Expo will be held in Shanghai from July 22 to 25. This is the first large-scale industry exhibition since the low-altitude economy was included in China’s “15th Five-Year Plan” and the new version of the Civil Aviation Law took effect on July 1. In the eVTOL (electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing) sector, star companies like Volant Aerotech, TCab Tech, and AutoFlight will debut multiple real aircraft. In the drone sector, leading players such as DJI Enterprise, Meituan Drones, and Fengyi Technology will headline the exhibition.
Politburo Meeting, New UK Prime Minister, and World Cup Final
On the political and geopolitical events front, China’s major late-July meeting—the Central Politburo meeting—is expected to convene next week. Market institutions anticipate that this meeting will set the tone for more proactive fiscal policy and moderately accommodative monetary policy, strengthening the synergy between the two to address overseas geopolitical risks and potential economic and trade uncertainties.
The international political stage will also see a new face. UK Labour MP Andy Burnham has secured the support of 349 Labour MPs, effectively locking in the party leadership position. He is scheduled to be officially sworn in as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on July 20, becoming the country’s seventh Prime Minister since the 2016 Brexit referendum.
In the capital markets, Chinese memory startup ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) completed its new share subscription on July 16 and is expected to officially list on the STAR Market late next week. Additionally, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange’s Listing Review Committee will review the initial public offering application of collaborative robot company Shenzhen Yuejiang Technology Co., Ltd. on July 22.
Other key events include: US President Donald Trump is scheduled to attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on July 24; the 2026 World Cup final will kick off in the early hours of July 20 Beijing time at MetLife Stadium in New York, featuring Spain against Argentina; and China’s “Gravity-1” Y4 carrier rocket is expected to conduct a sea-launched satellite mission in the eastern waters of Shanghai on July 22.
In corporate developments, a wave of price increases is hitting the power supply equipment and charging/energy storage sectors. Actionpower announced price hikes ranging from 5% to 10% across its full range of testing power supplies, specialty power supplies, and power quality products. Sinexcel (300693.SZ) has decided to uniformly raise prices by 10% to 30% for its entire product line, including power quality, charging and swapping equipment, and energy storage microgrids, effective July 21.