By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com – U.S. stocks got caught in a tech meltdown on Tuesday ahead of the kick off to earnings reports from Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Inc Class C (NASDAQ:GOOG), which will report after the closing bell.
In the meantime, the tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite was on its way to closing down 3%.
Global growth fears are part of the story. An outbreak of Covid-19 cases in China has sparked new fears of lockdowns in the capital city of Beijing that could further impede that country’s growth. Already, lockdowns in Shanghai and other areas have impeded manufacturing and other activities, spilling over to the U.S. companies that rely on production there.
Next week, the Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates by a half-point in response to red-hot inflation that has persisted for longer than anticipated. There are also new fears that the Fed’s moves will be so aggressive in the coming months that the U.S. economy could tip into recession.
The inflation pressure is already posing a threat to consumer spending, though consumer confidence for April came in about even with levels in March. The reading was slightly below expectations.
With restaurant earnings also happening this week, investors may be able to judge the willingness and ability of consumers to spend on dining out as more places reopen with the fading of the latest wave of Covid-19 cases in the U.S.
Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:
1. Metaverse earnings
There are some significant earnings releases Wednesday from companies such as Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:FB), T-Mobile, and Boeing.
Analysts polled by Investing.com expect Meta, the parent of Facebook, to report earnings per share of $2.56 on revenue of $28.32 billion. The company missed earnings per share forecasts in its previous report. Meta reports after the close Wednesday.
2. T-Mobile earnings
T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS), which reports before the open, is forecast to post earnings per share of 44 cents on revenue of $20.19 billion.
3. Boeing earnings
Finally, Boeing Co (NYSE:BA), which also reports ahead of the open, is expected to reveal a loss per share of 19 cents on revenue of $16.13 billion. Over the weekend, reports surfaced that the plane-maker’s rollout of its 777 would be delayed to the end of 2024.