{"slug": "trump-and-xi-dine-with-ai-titans-and-meta-takes-the-stage-what-to-watch-this", "title": "Trump and Xi dine with AI titans and Meta takes the stage: What to watch this week", "summary": "President Trump will host Chinese leader Xi Jinping for a state dinner on Thursday, with OpenAI's Sam Altman and Nvidia's Jensen Huang among the confirmed AI executives attending, in the two leaders' second meeting of 2026. Markets are watching for a continuation of the two countries' trade truce ahead of its November expiration, while Wall Street also awaits commentary from New York Fed president John Williams and other Fed officials following last week's first Fed rate hike since 2023.", "body_md": "With the Fed decision and most of the earnings season in the rearview, the last full week of September presents a lighter slate of scheduled financial programming — opening the door for whatever wild-card news the universe has in store.\n\nFor instance, a giant must-watch meeting between President Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, that is set to feature AI's biggest figures, and a big conference from Meta.\n\nLast week saw stocks mostly tread water despite the first Fed rate hike since 2023, as investors did a lot of looking around at bonds and stocks, trying to get a read on the market's various rooms.\n\nTrying to figure out what the Fed hike actually means — and whether it will make any difference to inflation — will be high on the week's to-do list. Stocks have largely drifted as the two competing forces have canceled each other out: High bond yields and strong earnings forecasts.\n\nWhile the earnings calendar is relatively calm, we'll have our eyes on corporate reports from Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) and Darden Restaurants (DRI), which will provide checks on consumers and, in Costco's case, a key place where the inflation rubber meets the road. We'll also be watching commentary from KB Home (KBH) as mortgage rates surge once again.\n\nWithout any big economic data releases, some of the more niche data may find itself taking center stage. Keep an eye on our calendar.\n\nTrump and Xi get ready for dinner with the AI titans\n\nPresident Trump will be hosting Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week for the second time in 2026.\n\nQuite a lot has happened since Trump's visit to China in May: a sticky war with Iran, a corresponding energy crisis, and growing risks amid an AI arms race between the two countries, just to name a few plot points.\n\nGoing into this, one has to imagine Trump is looking for wins with a low approval rating and that growing laundry list of things that are worrying the public — in a bipartisan fashion, no less.\n\nThe obvious thing markets are looking for is a continuation of the two countries' trade truce ahead of its November expiration. While that's broadly expected, any meeting between volatile parties could always devolve into something worrying.\n\nEspecially when touchy subjects like Taiwan or a war without any visible off-ramp are being discussed.\n\nOne thing both parties may be aligned on is brushing aside AI risks, as both Xi and Trump seem to have little appetite for curbing the arms race.\n\nBut with numerous AI titans attending a state dinner on Thursday — OpenAI's Sam Altman and Nvidia's Jensen Huang among those confirmed — things could get interesting.\n\nAnd, like anything involving the Trump administration and negotiations, be ready for the unexpected.\n\nMarkets look to FedSpeak and oil for answers\n\nWe noted that markets have had a tough time trying to parse last Wednesday's Fed hike.\n\nWall Street rightly noted that the Fed can't control the oil crisis, and as BlackRock's Rick Rieder deftly pointed out, inflation is happening in the part of the economy that isn't cyclical. That is to say: stuff that is more of a need than a want, like healthcare and utilities. And you can't really suppress demand for that, now can you?\n\nAt the same time, the bond market is just a little happier. And stocks have hardly moved.\n\nThis head-scratching is why Wall Street will be looking toward FedSpeak to try to make sense of things. As TD's macro research team pointed out in a research note, New York Fed president John Williams is \"the highlight, although he will likely sound noncommittal on October.\"\n\nOthers, such as Barr, Jefferson, Goolsbee, Barkin, Paulson, and Hammack, will round out a busy schedule of commentary. But TD notes that Paulson, who's been a dove, should be the one to watch as \"a signal for how hawkish the Committee has shifted.\"\n\nAs everyone's been rightly saying, the FedSpeak is only part of the equation. The other part is \"oilspeak.\" Any news of supply changes would be welcome relief to markets.\n\nMeta and Qualcomm take the stage from both sides of the AI spectrum\n\nMeta (META) kicks off its Connect conference on Wednesday, and the company is expected to unveil a new version of its glasses, fresh off Snap's foray into the space.\n\nThe company recently launched a subscription platform called \"Meta One,\" in an effort to monetize its AI business for consumers.\n\nWhile the enterprise aspect of the AI revolution has mostly been the factor driving markets, recent developments from Apple and Meta have thrust AI's consumer potential into the limelight.\n\nAccording to Reuters, Meta's new wearable may be camera-free, adding a new wrinkle to the recent boom in hardware innovation beyond the phone.\n\nMarkets will also see some action on the infrastructure side of the AI supply chain with Qualcomm's (QCOM) Snapdragon Summit, which kicks off on Tuesday in Hawaii.\n\nEconomic and earnings calendar\n\nMonday\n\nEconomic data: Chicago Fed national activity index, August (-0.06 expected, -0.08 previously)\n\nEarnings calendar: No notable earnings.\n\nTuesday\n\nEconomic data: ADP weekly employment change, week ended Sept. 5 (+16,250 previously); Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing index, September (-10.6 previously); Richmond Fed manufacturing index, September (4 previously); Richmond Fed business conditions, September (-12 previously)\n\nEarnings calendar: THOR Industries (THO), KB Home (KBH)\n\nWednesday\n\nEconomic data: MBA mortgage applications, week ended Sept. 18 (-4.1% previously); S&P Global US manufacturing PMI, September preliminary reading (53.6 expected, 53.9 previously); S&P Global US services PMI, September preliminary reading (56 expected, 56.5 previously); S&P Global US composite PMI, September preliminary reading (56 previously)\n\nEarnings calendar: Cintas Corporation (CTAS), Paychex (PAYX), General Mills (GIS), H.B. Fuller Company (FUL), Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL)\n\nThursday\n\nEconomic data: Current account balance, second quarter (-$226.8 billion previously); Initial jobless claims, week ended Sept. 19 (196,000 previously); Continuing claims, week ended Sept. 12 (1.73 million previously); New home sales, month-on-month, August (+1.3% expected, -10.5% previously); Building permits, month-on-month, August final reading (-2.7% previously); Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity, September (10 previously)\n\nEconomic data: Durable goods orders, August preliminary reading (-0.3% expected, +1.1% previously); Kansas City Fed services activity, September (-3 previously); U. Mich. sentiment, September final reading (47.8 expected, 47.8 previously); U. Mich. current conditions, September final reading (50.9 previously); U. Mich. expectations, September final reading (45.8 previously); U. Mich. 1-year inflation, September final reading (+4.6% previously); U. Mich. 5-10 year inflation, September final reading (+3.4% previously)", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/trump-and-xi-dine-with-ai-titans-and-meta-takes-the-stage-what-to-watch-this", "canonical_source": "https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-and-xi-dine-with-ai-titans-and-meta-takes-the-stage-what-to-watch-this-week-100000383.html", "published_at": "2026-09-21 10:00:00+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-09-21 10:30:46.219032+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["Donald Trump", "Xi Jinping", "OpenAI", "Sam Altman", "Nvidia", "Jensen Huang", "Federal Reserve", "John Williams"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/trump-and-xi-dine-with-ai-titans-and-meta-takes-the-stage-what-to-watch-this", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/trump-and-xi-dine-with-ai-titans-and-meta-takes-the-stage-what-to-watch-this.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/trump-and-xi-dine-with-ai-titans-and-meta-takes-the-stage-what-to-watch-this.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/trump-and-xi-dine-with-ai-titans-and-meta-takes-the-stage-what-to-watch-this.jsonld"}}