By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com -- Stocks fell weighed by energy and financials as the 10-year Treasury yield dropped to its lowest level since February.
Investors appear to be waiting for clues on the direction of the economy and interest rates from the Federal Reserve, which will release the minutes of its last policy meeting on Wednesday.
Stocks have hit successive record highs in recent days, driven by strong economic data. But fears about possible economic effects of a fast-spreading variant of Covid could disrupt the optimism.
Oil prices were also volatile on Tuesday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia failed to find agreement on oil production for August and going forward this year.
Separately, Didi Global Inc ADR (NYSE:DIDI)shares, which listed in New York just last week, plunged 22% on Tuesday after Chinese regulators ordered local app stores to remove the company's ride-hailing app over the weekend amid a security review.
There isn’t much in the way of earnings or data this week, which is abbreviated in the U.S. because of the July 4 weekend.
Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:
1. The Fed minutes
The Fed will on Wednesday at 2:00 PM ET (1800 GMT) release the minutes of its last meeting in June. Officials of the central bank had hinted at the possibility of two rate hikes in 2023. A lot of people will be looking to read if the minutes match the hawkish comments made in public by some of the Fed officials since the meeting.
2 The JOLTs job openings
US Bureau of Labor Statistics data for job openings and labor turnover is likely to show 9.388 million vacancies for May, higher than the 9.286 million that opened in April. The data are released at 10:00 AM ET.
3. Oil inventory numbers
American Petroleum Institute will release its weekly estimates of crude inventories after the closing bell Wednesday. The last report showed a draw of 8.1 million barrels. Commodities investors will be watching the numbers from the industry and the government this week after the oil cartel led by Saudi Arabia failed to find agreement on output for August.