Next Week Outlook: Seven Major Central Banks Take Turns "Bombarding" the Market, NVIDIA GTC 2026 Conference Held

**March 15: Market Brief** The U.S.-Iran-Israel conflict has entered its third week, with ongoing energy market volatility emerging as a critical concern. Rising oil prices are stoking inflation, eroding corporate profitability—and setting the stage for a challenging market environment ahead. Next week, seven major central banks will release interest rate decisions, leaving markets navigating high uncertainty. ### **Market Spotlight: Federal Reserve** - **Thursday, 2:00 AM ET**: Fed FOMC releases interest rate decision + Summary of Economic Projections (SEP) - **Thursday, 2:30 AM ET**: Fed Chair Jerome Powell holds a monetary policy press conference Markets widely expect the Fed to hold rates steady. Recent macro data have upended the Fed’s rate outlook, and this is Powell’s second-to-last meeting, so a balanced, cautious tone is likely. All eyes will be on the **SEP and dot plot**: expectations for two rate cuts have dimmed amid the latest oil price surge. ### **Other Key Central Bank Moves** - **Tuesday, 11:30 PM ET**: Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) rate decision - **Wednesday, 9:45 PM ET**: Bank of Canada (BoC) rate decision - **Thursday (time TBD)**: Bank of Japan (BoJ) rate decision - **Thursday, 4:30 PM ET**: Swiss National Bank (SNB) rate decision - **Thursday, 8:00 PM ET**: Bank of England (BoE) rate decision + meeting minutes - **Thursday, 9:15 PM ET**: European Central Bank (ECB) rate decision These decisions could drive unpredictable shifts in global fund flows. ### **Key Economic Data Highlights** - **Monday, 9:15 PM ET**: U.S. February Industrial Production (MoM) - **Wednesday, 4:30 AM ET**: U.S. API Weekly Crude Oil Stock Change (week ended March 13) - **Wednesday, 8:30 PM ET**: U.S. February PPI (YoY + MoM) - **Thursday, 8:30 PM ET**: U.S. Initial Jobless Claims (March 14) + March Philly Fed Manufacturing Index U.S. and European data will flood markets next week. Focus areas: inflation dynamics (U.S. PPI, Eurozone February CPI final), labor resilience (jobless claims), and manufacturing momentum (Philly Fed). These metrics will shape Fed/ECB policy expectations and global asset pricing. ### **NVIDIA GTC 2026 (March 16–19, San Jose, CA)** Billed as the year’s most anticipated AI event, the conference centers on Jensen Huang’s opening keynote. Expectations include: - Full-stack AI updates (chips, software, models, apps) focused on Physical AI, Agentic AI, AI Factories, inference, and accelerated computing. - A preview of a “game-changing new chip” (rumored to target inference/Agentic AI with optimized architecture—e.g., a Language Processing Unit (LPU) or Groq-style low-power chip) to tackle token costs, ROI, and energy efficiency bottlenecks. Markets are buzzing over potential chip previews that could redefine AI hardware.