Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon Earnings: 3 Things to Watch

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Investing.com — Stocks tried to stage a late-afternoon comeback on Monday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average earlier plunged 1,100 points. 

Worries about U.S. entanglement in Russia’s conflict with Russia weighed on markets.

Nasdaq turned positive with half-hour of trading left in the session, after earlier falling more than 4%.

Fears are also being stoked by the Federal Reserve’s regular meeting this week. Though an interest rate increase this week seems unlikely, the central bank has been under pressure to act on inflation, which is running near 40 year highs.

The Fed will release its decision on rates Wednesday afternoon, and then Chair Jerome Powell will have a press conference. Most market watchers expect the first rate hike to come after the Fed’s meeting in March.

NATO said on Monday it was putting forces on standby and reinforcing eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets in response to Russia’s military build-up at Ukraine’s borders, Reuters reported.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. Microsoft earnings

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) second-quarter profit per share is seen at $2.31 on revenue of $50.65 billion, according to analysts tracked by Investing.com. People will be listening to what the tech giant says about client activity and cloud services.

2. Johnson & Johnson earnings

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is expected to report a fourth-quarter revenue of $25.28 billion and profit per share of $2.31. Analysts will be listening for news on its Covid-19 vaccine and the sales outlook.

3. Verizon earnings

Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) is seen clocking a revenue of $33.93 billion in its fourth quarter with profit per share coming in at $1.29. Analysts are expecting to hear what the company has to say about its 5G rollout, especially since a small part of it has been delayed because of concerns about aviation being affected by new frequencies.

–Reuters and Investing.com staff contributed to this report