Week Ahead: Midterms, Jobs Report and Big Tech Earnings

Your guide to the week of November 2, 2026: Apple and AMD earnings, US midterm elections, central bank decisions and the October jobs report.

The stock market week ahead (November 2–6, 2026) packs several market-moving events into five days: Apple, Palantir, AMD and Qualcomm earnings, the US midterm elections on Tuesday, rate decisions from Australia to Brazil and the UK, and the October US jobs report on Friday. Below is the full economic calendar this week, the consensus forecasts analysts are citing, and the risks strategists are flagging. Forecasts come from several outlets and sometimes differ; where they do, we show the range.

Economic calendar this week

Day	Event	What to watch / consensus
Sun, Nov 1	OPEC+ online meeting (seven core members)	Kept December output targets unchanged, TASS reported
Mon, Nov 2	ISM manufacturing PMI; Apple and Palantir earnings (after close)	Apple about $1.98–$1.99 EPS; Palantir about $0.41 EPS
Tue, Nov 3	US midterm elections; RBA decision; JOLTS (September); AMD earnings	JOLTS job openings forecast 7.11 million vs 7.08 million prior (FXEmpire); AMD about $1.95 EPS
Wed, Nov 4	ISM services PMI; Brazil rate decision; Qualcomm, Arm, Uber, McDonald's earnings	Brazil expected to cut 0.25 point to 13.50%
Thu, Nov 5	Bank of England decision (12:00 UK); Banxico decision	BoE: most economists polled by Reuters expect a rise to 4%
Fri, Nov 6	US October jobs report, 8:30 a.m. ET	Payroll forecasts range from +45,000 to +65,000; unemployment seen at 4.2%

A PMI, or purchasing managers' index, is a monthly survey of businesses; a reading above 50 signals expansion. JOLTS (the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) measures how many jobs employers are trying to fill. The ISM manufacturing report lands on the morning of November 2, CMC Markets notes, with the services survey on Wednesday.

Earnings this week

Apple (Monday, after the close). Analysts expect earnings of $1.98 per share, up 7%, on revenue of $113.3 billion, up 11%, Tech-Insider reported. CMC Markets and other previews put consensus slightly higher, at about $1.99 on roughly $113.4 billion. EPS means earnings per share, the profit attributed to each share.

Palantir (Monday, after the close). The data-analytics firm is forecast to earn about $0.41 per share on revenue of about $2.18 billion, according to previews compiled by CoinCentral. Investors treat it as a read on corporate AI spending.

AMD (Tuesday, after the close). AMD is expected to report about $1.95 per share on revenue of roughly $13.09 billion, per the same CoinCentral preview. It reports after Intel's disappointing results, InvestingLive noted.

Qualcomm (Wednesday). Consensus is about $2.17 per share on roughly $10.14 billion in revenue, per CoinCentral. Earlier previews gave different dates for Qualcomm, so check the company's investor-relations page. Arm, Uber and McDonald's are also listed for Wednesday, along with Shopify during the week.

For a deeper look at these reports, see our earnings week preview for Apple, AMD, Palantir and Qualcomm.

The October jobs report

The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases October nonfarm payrolls (the monthly count of jobs added outside farming) on Friday, November 6, at 8:30 a.m. ET. Forecasts differ: Newsquawk puts payrolls at +55,000, InvestingLive at +63,000, CMC Markets at about 60,000, and KPMG at +45,000, compared with +29,000 in September. A Seeking Alpha preview cites about 65,000. Unemployment is expected to stay at 4.2%.

Why it matters: a strong number could raise the odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike in December, while a weak one could do the opposite. More in our jobs report preview and our story on the Fed's last decision.

The midterm elections

Americans vote on Tuesday, November 3, for control of the House and a third of the Senate. CNBC framed the vote as arriving "just as investors dump tech." Previews such as FXEmpire's highlight rules on AI and data centers as the angle most relevant to tech stocks. Results may take time to finalize in close races, which can extend uncertainty into Wednesday's session. Background: US midterm elections 2026: what markets are watching.

Central banks

Reserve Bank of Australia (Tuesday): The RBA raised its cash rate to 4.60% on September 29, its fourth hike of 2026, according to Aussie. Economists are split: CBA expects another hike, while NAB expects a pause. The decision comes with new forecasts and matters for the Australian dollar.
Brazil (Wednesday): The central bank is expected to cut by 0.25 point to 13.50%, per InvestingLive.
Bank of England (Thursday): Bank Rate is 3.75% after a 6–3 vote to hold on September 17, with three members voting to raise (Cambridge Currencies). A Reuters poll of 63 economists taken October 12–14 found 54 expecting a rise to 4%, and Capital Economics expects hikes in November and February if energy prices don't climb much further, HomeOwners Alliance reported. The decision is due at 12:00 UK time with a new Monetary Policy Report. Sterling and UK gilts are most exposed.
Banxico (Thursday): Mexico's central bank also decides, with its rate at 6.50%.

The wider shift is covered in central banks turn hawkish. "Hawkish" means leaning toward higher rates to fight inflation.

Oil and OPEC+

Seven core OPEC+ members (Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Kazakhstan and Oman) met online on Sunday and had agreed in principle to keep December output targets unchanged, three sources told Reuters, via CNBC before the meeting, and the meeting kept targets unchanged, TASS reported. Disruption from the Iran war has left Gulf producers pumping below their quotas, Business Recorder reported. In September the group finished unwinding a 1.65 million barrel-per-day cut first agreed in 2023. Brent is coming off a 13.6% monthly gain in October, per FinanceFeeds. Higher oil feeds into inflation, which is one reason central banks in the UK and Australia are leaning hawkish. See oil prices after the Hormuz tanker attack.

What strategists are watching

The backdrop is nervous. Reuters, via Kitco described an AI-wary market after a string of setbacks for the AI trade. CNBC's Jim Cramer singled out Apple, AMD and the jobs report as the week's focal points. The main risks the previews flag:

Whether Apple and AMD calm or deepen worries about tech and AI spending.
How investors react to the election result, especially any talk of AI and data center rules.
Whether Friday's jobs data shifts expectations for the Fed's December meeting.
Energy prices, which feed directly into the Bank of England and RBA debates.

FAQ

What earnings are this week?

Apple and Palantir on Monday, November 2; AMD on Tuesday; and Qualcomm, Arm, Uber and McDonald's on Wednesday, according to previews from CoinCentral and CMC Markets.

When is the jobs report?

The October jobs report comes out Friday, November 6, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. ET.

When is the Bank of England decision?

Thursday, November 5, at 12:00 UK time.

Will the midterm elections affect the stock market?

Previews see the vote as more important for policy, such as AI and data center rules, than as a guaranteed market mover. Reactions can't be predicted with certainty.

What is on the economic calendar this week?

ISM manufacturing (Monday), JOLTS (Tuesday), ISM services (Wednesday), and nonfarm payrolls (Friday), plus rate decisions from the RBA, Brazil, the Bank of England and Banxico.

Sources

This article is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice. Markets move quickly; check live prices before making decisions.