Chip Stocks, Big Banks, Airline Losses: 3 Things to Watch By Investing.com

By Liz Moyer

Investing — Earnings season got off with a bang on Wednesday, driven by better-than-expected results from three of the biggest U.S. banks.

Stocks soared on the news but later gave back their gains. Bitcoin surged above $64,000 as Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) made its public debut on Nasdaq. The tech and industrial sectors hit all-time highs.

In the afternoon, the Federal Reserve released its Beige Book, a periodic report about local business conditions in its 12 member districts. Investors looked to it for inflation trends as the economy across the country continues to reopen.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during a virtual conference on Wednesday that the central bank was unlikely to raise interest rates soon, and had a three-part test to decide when that time does come. He added that now was not the time to prioritize the deficit. 

It’s just the start of earnings season, so reports continue to pour out Thursday and Friday. Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow. 

1. Chip earnings in focus

Chip stocks have been under the microscope as a worldwide shortage has forced manufacturers to shut down temporarily. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) has promised to spend $20 billion to build two new factories in the coming years. 

Rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) reports earnings on Thursday. Analysts tracked by Investing.com expect earnings per share of 92.6 cents on revenue of $12.79 billion.

2. Banks continue to make a splash

More bank earnings come out after three big ones beat expectations on Wednesday. Banks with significant capital markets and investment banking activities are benefiting from the booming market and wave of IPOs.

Analysts tracked by Investing.com expect Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) to report earnings per share of 65.5 cents on revenue of $21.85 billion and Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) to report EPS of $2.52 on revenue of $18.67 billion.

3. Airlines start to stage a come back

Travel-related stocks such as cruise operators and airlines have roared back after languishing during last year’s lockdowns. But they still have quite a bit of ground to make up, and that struggle continues to show up in their earnings. Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) will be the latest to report on Thursday. Analysts expect a loss of $2.84 a share and revenue of just over $4 billion.