Early earnings results may swing market, but Fed rate decision will drive Tuesday action.
Investors placed some last-minute markers on Tuesday as stocks fell ahead of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve decision on interest rates. U.S. Treasurys rose.
Markets pondered several significant earnings reports during the session, but the market force remains the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee’s 2 p.m. rate announcement, which is expected to hike a key interest rate by three quarters of a point.
"High frequency economic indicators have deteriorated, both in the U.S. and elsewhere," Tiffany Wilding, a U.S. economist at bond giant PIMCO (ETR:ALV), wrote in a Tuesday note to clients. "Inflationary supply shocks have been more acute than originally expected, implying central banks may need to engineer recessions to restore price stability." Watch for the rate decision to arrive at 2 p.m. Wednesday, followed by a press conference by Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
The S&P 500 fell 1.2%, 45.79 points, to 3921.05. The Nasdaq composite, which includes several of the largest tech companies, lost 220.09, or 1.9%, to close at 11562.57, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 0.7% to finish at 31761.54.
Shares of Walmart fell 7.6% after it warned that higher food and gas prices are eating into consumers' broader household budgets.
Microsoft's earnings
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) shares fell in after hours trading when the company said its cloud business slowed more than expected, and a strong dollar reduced overseas results. The company also said video game sales slowed.
The company Tuesday said it earned $16.7 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter ended in June, less than analyst estimates of $17.3 billion. Revenue rose 12% from a year ago but also missed estimates.
Microsoft's fiscal fourth quarter video game sales fell 7%, after rising six percent in the previous quarter.
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) said inflation is hitting its customers and that its sales fell despite higher prices.
McDonald'sChief Executive Chris Kempczinski said on Tuesday, "The operating environment across the competitive landscape remains challenging,"
Shopify's earnings
Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP) shares fell 15% after the company said it's cutting 1000 workers, or 10% of its staff, after overhiring earlier this year. That's a fate it shared with several other tech firms this year.
The shares have fallen more than 80% since they peaked in Nov. near $175, adjusting for a recent stock split. The company reports quarterly results on Wednesday.
And Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) said Tuesday that its second quarter revenue rose 14%. That's better than expected after an April company warning its revenue would be between $4.2 billion and $4.8 billion based on weak demand projections. Instead, it said revenue hit $5.2 billion in the quarter
Other earnings due Wednesday include Apple, Amazon, Mastercard, Pfizer and Merck.
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