FOMC minutes, Nvidia earnings, eBay reports: 3 things to watch

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- Stocks sank on Tuesday after a long holiday weekend. Bleak outlooks from Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD) added to concerns about interest rates.

Investors are going to get a dose of what the Federal Reserve is thinking tomorrow, when the central bank releases the minutes of its meeting earlier this month. Stocks rose earlier this year on the hope that the Fed would be near the end of its rate hikes. But more recent data point to continued high inflation that won't be going away soon, stoking fears the Fed will continue to raise rates.

Already, the market is expecting rates to rise another quarter of a percentage point at the Fed's March meeting. And many expect a similar-sized increase in May, with the Fed ultimately pushing the benchmark rate above 5% by mid-summer.

Fed officials have said rates would have to stay high for a while to nudge interest rates back to the 2% target. 

Earnings outlooks from Walmart and Home Depot pointed to inflation-weary consumers continuing to bargain shop and hold back on some purchases, which doesn't bode well for the slew of retailers due to report results in the coming days.

Later this week, another key inflation measure could give investors more reason to worry.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. FOMC minutes

The Fed will release the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting from earlier this month. Investors will be reading closely for clues on what the policymakers are thinking as they head into their next meeting just a few weeks from now.

2. Nvidia earnings

Chip maker NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is expected to report earnings of 81 cents a share on revenue of $6 billion.

3. eBay earnings

The online auction site eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) is expected to report earnings per share of $1.06 on revenue of $2.46B.