Wall Street Week Ahead: Spooked US stock market faces tech earnings minefield, Fed meeting
investors are bracing for earnings from the market's biggest tech companies, a Federal Reserve policy meeting and closely watched employment data in a week that could determine the near-term trajectory of U.S. stocks following a bout of severe turbulence.
A months-long rally in massive tech stocks hit a wall in the second half of July, culminating in a selloff that saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index notch their biggest one-day losses since 2022 on Wednesday after disappointing earnings from Tesla and Google-parent Alphabet.
More volatility could be ahead. Next week's results from Microsoft, Apple, Amazon.com and Facebook-parent Meta Platforms could further test investors' tolerance of potential earnings shortfalls from tech titans. The blistering rallies in the world's biggest tech companies this year pushed markets higher, but have sparked concerns about stretched valuations.
Though the S&P 500 is still only about 5% below its all-time high and is up nearly 14% this year, some investors worry that Wall Street may have become too optimistic about earnings growth, leaving stocks vulnerable if companies are unable to meet expectations in coming months.
Investors also will be closely watching comments following the end of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting on Wednesday for clues on whether officials are set to deliver interest rate cuts, which market participants widely expect to begin in September. Employment data at the end of the week, including the closely watched monthly jobs report, could
