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STORY: From a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting to Apple and Amazon reporting results... these are the stories to watch in business and finance in the coming week.

The Federal Reserve meets on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Rate action is unlikely, but comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell about the potential for policy easing later in 2024 will be scrutinized.

Fed futures markets now predict some 35 basis points of easing in 2024 down from 150 expected at the start of the year.

The last of the "Magnificent Seven" megacaps to report are Amazon on Tuesday and Apple on Thursday.

Some of their peers such as Tesla and Facebook parent Meta Platforms have given a mixed performance.

Apple shares have lost their luster in 2024, tumbling over 10%.

Amazon's shares are faring better so far this year, having risen 18% as of Wednesday.

Official figures for China's PMI index are due on Tuesday and the Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI survey is expected shortly afterwards.

Upbeat data could revive spirits and bring relief to policymakers who have been trying to shore up growth.

Global investment houses have turned increasingly bullish on Chinese stocks, helping the blue-chip CSI 300 index tack on more than 10% from a February trough.

But Beijing is still in a bind over its currency - with the yuan sliding against a perky dollar.

Euro zone inflation and economic growth data due out on Tuesday could strengthen market bets for the ECB to lower its deposit rate from a record 4% in June...

although policymakers are not expected to move very fast after that.

Economists polled by Reuters expect euro zone GDP to have expanded by just 0.1% in the first quarter year-on-year.