Earnings, Fed this week; Evergrande ordered to liquidate - what's moving markets

investing.com:

Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures were subdued on Monday, with markets preparing for a busy week of major earnings and central bank policy announcements. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) are among many of the tech giants due to report results this week, while the Federal Reserve will unveil its latest policy decision and deliver closely-watched commentary that could help determine the path ahead for interest rates. China Evergrande (HK:3333) is ordered to liquidate, starting a new and possibly lengthy chapter for the heavily indebted property developer.

1. Futures mixed

U.S. stock futures hovered around both sides of the flatline on Monday, as traders geared up for a week of key corporate earnings and central bank decisions.

By 05:07 ET (10:07 GMT), the Dow futures contract had shed 55 points or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures had dipped by 3 points or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 futures had added 19 points or 0.1%.

A solid start to the new year for the main averages on Wall Street will likely face a stern exam in the coming days. Investors will be parsing through numbers from some of America's largest businesses and digesting influential commentary from the Federal Reserve, both of which may help clarify the outlook for the broader economy (see below).

The S&P 500 dipped by 0.1% on Friday, leaving the benchmark index near all-time highs, a move that reflects market hopes that inflation may be cooling without a meltdown in growth — a scenario commonly referred to as a «soft landing.» The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also fell by 0.4% to end the prior trading week, while the 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%.

2. Big-name earnings ahead

A parade of high-profile and possibly