© Reuters. Liz Moyer
Investing.com — Stocks fell again on Thursday, further extending the downtrend of the previous session as recession fears revived.
Markets are trying to decide what the Federal Reserve’s next move on interest rates will be. Various Fed speakers have signaled their willingness to continue raising rates, albeit at a slower pace, while others, notably St. said it should be done.
The Fed’s next meeting will start on January 31st and, when its decision comes out the next day, it will raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point. This means that if we want to go above 5%, we will have to raise interest rates at future meetings. The current federal funds rate is 4.25% to 4.50%.
Expectations for further rate hikes are in the midst of corporate earnings season. Banks have already reported that with a weakening economy and the possibility of rising unemployment adding more stress to households, many are putting more money aside for possible future loan losses. I have pointed out that I am taking
The tech sector will release several reports over the next few days, followed by retailers’ reports, amid a major wave of job cuts and cost cutting in the industry.
Here are three things that could affect tomorrow’s markets.
1.Second-hand house sale
Data will be output at 10:00 ET (15:00 GMT). Analysts expect sales to fall 5.4% in December from the previous month, when sales fell 7.7%. On an annual basis, analysts expect he will sell 3.96 million existing homes, up from 4.09 million in November.
2. Federal Reserve Speaker
Two more Fed officials are scheduled to speak on Friday. Philadelphia Fed President Patrick will speak at 9:00 a.m. ET, while Fed Christopher will speak at 1:00 p.m. ET. Investors will be watching for any hints as to whether February’s interest rate decision will reflect their views.
3. Schlumberger Earnings
Oil services company Schlumberger NV (NYSE:), also known as Schlumberger, is expected to report earnings per share of 68 cents on earnings of $7.78 billion.
