Wednesday preview: Federal Reserve, Softcat in the spotlight

(Sharecast News) - All eyes in the middle of the week will be on the US central bank as it meets to decide on policy.

No change is expected in the Federal Reserve's policy settings, but there is keen interest in the latest outlooks for the economy from its top officials.

Rate-setters in Japan are also due to meet to decide on rates. They too are expected to stand pat.

In the background, investors will be digesting the content of the previous day's telephone conversation between the Presidents of the US and Russia.

Looking out to Softcat's interim figures, UBS analyst Michael Briest forecast a continuation of the trends seen by the company over the first three months of fiscal year 2025, as opposed to the weakness seen in its reseller peers.

Gross profit was seen up by 10.2% over the half, with consensus anticipating a gain of 11.4%.

Cost growth meanwhile was anticipated to have continued to moderate.

Briest also expressed interest in any update as regards the impacts of Microsoft incentive changes to the business, given that Softcat was Microsoft's largest partner in the UK.