By Liz Moyer
Investing.com -- Stocks languished on Tuesday ahead of a big slate of tech earnings and the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates.
Investors are holding their breath to see how far the Fed will go as it seeks to curb inflation. Most expect a rate increase of a 0.75 percentage point, though some say the central bank could take an even more drastic full-percentage point move to tame inflation running at 40-year highs.
Inflation is to blame for recent earnings warnings from Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) and other retailers, who say shoppers are being forced to spend more on necessities such as food and set aside plans to buy higher-margin items such as clothes and other general merchandise. Supply chain issues continue to hamper companies, including General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), which said it couldn't make as many vehicles in the recent quarter because of supply issues. Other companies, such as Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT), are cutting jobs as business slows down from the surge of activity during the pandemic.
The Biden administration has been out this week trying to shore up the message that the economy was doing fine and recovering, with gasoline prices falling at the pump and strength in the labor market and in consumer spending, though falling home sales show signs parts of the economy are cooling. The preliminary reading on second quarter gross domestic product is due out on Thursday.
Until then, investors have a bunch of earnings from big tech companies. Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:
1. Meta Platforms earnings
Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META), the parent of Facebook, is expected to report earnings of $2.56 a share on revenue of $28.9 billion, but investors will be listening to what the social media company has to say about digital advertising.
2. Qualcomm earnings
Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ:QCOM) is expected to report earnings of $2.89 a share on revenue of $10.9 billion.
3. T-Mobile earnings
T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ:TMUS) is expected to report earnings of 26 cents on revenue of $20.1 billion.