3 Things to Watch By Investing.com

By Sam Boughedda

Investing.com – Stocks fell on Tuesday after a Federal Reserve official hinted at more aggressive tightening of monetary policy to keep inflation in check in the months ahead.

Lael Brainard, who is awaiting confirmation as Fed Vice Chair, said getting inflation down was a top goal of the central bank, which could start to reduce the size of its balance sheet by May and shrink rapidly.

Those words were enough to send tech stocks tumbling, with the Nasdaq down more than 2% in late trading.

But the world will be watching for the words the Fed officials shared during their meeting last month for guidance on what the Fed plans to do next. Those words, in the minutes of the meeting, come out on Wednesday.

Investors are also bracing for a fresh round of sanctions on Russia to be announced this week, which could take aim at the financial and energy sectors, after reports of atrocities on Ukraine civilians.

Meanwhile, the markets are awaiting the next batch of earnings, which start pouring out later this month. With war in the Ukraine creating more uncertainty by the day, energy prices remain elevated and investors will be eager to hear what corporate executives say about costs and labor trends.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. Awaiting Fed minutes

Market participants will be keeping a close eye on the FOMC March , which will be released Wednesday at 2:00 PM ET. Traders will be examining monetary policymaker’s thoughts on the future interest rate hike path and any comments on tapering.

2. Inventories

The Energy Information Administration’s data, which measures the weekly change in the number of barrels of commercial held by U.S. firms, will be released tomorrow at 10:30 AM ET. Analysts forecast a draw of 2.056 million, above the previous draw of 3.449 million barrels.

3. Energy execs testify

The House Energy and Commerce committee invited a bunch of oil company executives, from BP PLC (LON:), Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:), Chevron Corp (NYSE:) and others, to answer their questions about high gas prices and the industry’s role in pricing markets. The hearing starts at 10:30 AM ET.