By Sam Boughedda
Investing.com – Stocks anticipated more aggressive tightening by the Federal Reserve as early as may, sending them into a tumble before recovering ground late in the afternoon.
The Fed signaled in its minutes on Wednesday that it was prepared to act more quickly to tighten the reins on the economy to damp inflation. That includes acting to pare down its balance sheet of bonds more quickly than originally anticipated.
The central bank next meets in May, after it has the chance to see another set of jobs and inflation data for the month of April. With Russia’s war on Ukraine throwing uncertainty into the mix, and volatile energy prices, investors will be closely scrutinizing the earnings reports that start rolling out next week from major U.S. companies.
In the meantime, data on jobless claims comes out on Thursday, with the recent trend showing a drop in joblessness not seen since the late 1960s.
The Senate is expected to vote on President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court nominee, Ketanji Brown Jackson, this week before Congress sets off on a two week Easter holiday. Also pending on Capitol Hill is a $10 billion spending package for Biden’s Covid planning efforts.
Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:
1. Spirits earnings
Constellation Brands Inc Class A (NYSE:STZ) will report earnings before the opening bell on Thursday. The international beverage and alcohol company beat earnings and revenue forecasts in its previous report, and tomorrow, it will be hoping for a repeat. Analysts polled by Investing.com predict Constellation will report earnings per share of $2.10 on revenue of $2.02 billion.
2. ConAgra earnings
ConAgra Foods Inc (NYSE:CAG) will also release earnings for the latest quarter before the bell on Thursday. The company, which owns brands such as Slim Jim, Duncan Hines, and Birds Eye, is expected to report earnings per share of $0.57 on revenue of $2.84 billion by analysts polled by Investing.com.
3. Officials speak
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who testified on Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee on the current condition of international finance and the "enormous economic repercussions" stemming from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, will give her first-ever speech on cryptocurrency policy and regulation tomorrow at 10:30 AM ET.
We also have FOMC members Bullard, Bostic, and Williams speaking at 9 AM ET, 2 PM ET, and 4:05 PM ET, respectively.