Fed, Apple, Facebook: 3 Things to Watch By Investing.com

By Christiana Sciaudone

Investing.com — The U.S. consumer is feeling good, but that didn’t help the markets much.  

Cyclical stocks, however, were higher after the confidence level rose to 121.7 in April from 109.0 in March, well above economists’ consensus of 113.0.

Industrials did well, with United Parcel Service Inc (NYSE:UPS) rallying after reporting strong earnings thanks to small business. Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), shockingly, fell despite the electric automaker delivering better-than-expected results.  

Tech stars are reporting earnings this week, with Google-parent Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) due after markets close.

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are up on Wednesday, and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) reports Thursday.

We also have the Federal Reserve coming up, and Chair Jerome Powell’s comments.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. Happy Fednesday

It’s Fed decision day. The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to stay the course even as the U.S. economy continues to rebound from the pandemic doldrums. Chair Jerome Powell has been indicating that policymakers won’t be withdrawing support anytime soon. The decision and statement hit at 2:00 PM ET (1800 GMT), followed by Powell’s press conference.

2. How do you like them apples?

Apple reports Wednesday, so we’ll get a sense of just how much consumers and investors like it. Consensus calls for a profit of 99 cents on $77.3 billion in sales. Watch for comments on the chip shortage and how well its iPhones are selling in the all-important China market.

3. Speaking of likes

Facebook is also reporting after the close. Its ad machine is likely to keep humming along, driving revenue of $23.7 billion and an adjusted earning per share of $2.61. But for how long? Listen in on the call for talk of Apple’s new data protection system and how it will affect that ad machine going forward.