Markets are heading straight for what could be the most important – or at very least the busiest – week of summer.
The Federal Reserve’s interest rate setting committee meets Tuesday and Wednesday and is expected to deliver another three-quarter point rate hike. Investors will be watching for clues about the central bank’s next move, at the upcoming September meeting.
The Fed rate hike alone would be a major event in a mid-summer week, but there are also dozens of important earnings reports including Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet.
There is also some key economic data, the most important of which could be second quarter gross domestic product. Worries the Fed’s aggressive interest rate policies will push the economy into recession have been a concern for investors, so markets could be volatile if that report shows a contracting economy, for a second quarter in a row.
"For me, the real tell will be whether the attitude of investors continues to be that the earnings season is better than feared," said one strategist.
