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Global shares, Wall St futures edge up

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Fed, BOE and BOJ all meet this week

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Earnings include Microsoft ( MSFT ), Amazon ( AMZN ) and Meta

(Updates prices at 1215 GMT)

By Wayne Cole and Amanda Cooper

SYDNEY/LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - Global stocks edged

up on Monday in a week packed with earnings and a trio of

central bank meetings that could see the United States and UK

open the door to interest rate cuts, while Japan might lift

borrowing costs in a step toward "normality".

Also due this week are the U.S. jobs report for July,

closely watched surveys on U.S. and global manufacturing, and

euro zone gross domestic product and inflation data.

"U.S. markets are approaching crunch time. This coming week

could very well set the path for markets over the near term,"

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown,

said.

The U.S. Treasury will outline its bond sale plans for the

quarter, while China's politburo meeting could produce more

stimulus following surprise rate cuts last week.

After a benign June inflation report, markets are wagering

that the Federal Reserve will lay the groundwork for a September

rate cut at its policy meeting on Wednesday.

Futures are fully priced for a quarter-point easing and even

imply a 12% chance of 50 basis points, and have 68 basis points

of easing priced in by December.

"The FOMC is set to hold steady but is likely to revise its

statement to hint that a cut at the following meeting in

September has become more likely," wrote analysts at Goldman

Sachs in a note.

"We now see the risks to the Fed path as tilted slightly to

the downside of our baseline of quarterly rate cuts, though not

quite as much as market pricing implies."

The Bank of Japan also meets Wednesday and markets imply a

70% chance it will hike rates by 10 basis points to 0.2%, with

some chance it could move by 15 basis points.

Investors are less sure whether the Bank of England will

ease at its meeting on Thursday, with futures showing a 51%

probability of a cut to 5%.

EARNINGS TEST

The MSCI All-World index was up 0.2%, with

stocks in Europe 0.4% higher, boosted by gains across

the pharma and tech sectors.

The consumer products sector offset some of that uplift, as

shares in Enfamil formula maker Reckitt Benckiser ( RBGPF ) hit

their lowest since early 2013 following a U.S. court ruling

against rival Abbott in a case on infant formula.

Around 40% of the S&P 500 by market worth will report this

week, including tech darlings Microsoft ( MSFT ), Apple ( AAPL )

, Amazon.com ( AMZN ) and Facebook-parent Meta Platforms ( META )

.

Expectations are high so any hint of disappointment will

test the mega-caps' sky-high valuations.

"With some sizeable moves implied by the options market for

the individual names on the day of reporting, movement at a

stock level could resonate across other plays within their

sector and potentially promote volatility," said Chris Weston,

head of research at broker Pepperstone.

"Company earnings don't come much bigger than Microsoft ( MSFT ),

where the options market implies a move (higher or lower) of

4.7% - the after-market session on Tuesday could get lively."

Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were up

0.4-0.6%.

In currency markets, the Japanese yen held on to its recent

gains, leaving the dollar flat at 153.845, still clear

of last week's low of 151.93.

The euro eased 0.3% to $1.0817, while the pound

also fell 0.3% to $1.2825.

In commodity markets, gold inched up 0.1% to $2,387 an ounce

, supported by the prospect of a dovish Fed.

Oil prices fell in volatile trading, as investors remained

cautious of a widening conflict in the Middle East following a

rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, which

Israel and the United States blamed on Lebanese armed group

Hezbollah.

Brent was down 0.7% at $80.57 a barrel, while U.S.

crude dropped 0.8% to $76.55.