Wall Street to open lower ahead of earnings barrage

At the start of what is set to be a hectic week for company announcements, US indices are expected to open in the red. Spread betting quotes indicate the Dow Jones will surrender 127 points to open at 34,924 and the S&P 500 will yield 13 points to clock in at 4,399. The teach-heavy Nasdaq 100, the index most likely to be affected by this week’s multitude of results from tech giants, is expected to retreat 25 points to 15,086. “As we look ahead to this week’s key events, uppermost in investors’ minds will be the Federal Reserve rate meeting, which starts tomorrow, and where speculation about a discussion on the tapering of asset purchases, and a possible timeline is likely to be top of mind,” said CMC’s Michael Hewson. “It is also set to be another busy week of earnings reports as the big tech giants report their latest quarterly numbers. “These are especially important given that these tech companies have predominantly driven the moves higher in US markets to recent record highs, and investors won’t want to see any signs of a paring back of guidance expectations over the rest of the year. “Starting with Tesla later tonight, we can also look forward to the numbers from Apple, Amazon. Alphabet, Facebook and Microsoft, along with a host of other high-profile names throughout the week,” he added. Four things to watch for on Monday: On the earnings front, aside from the headline-grabbing Tesla traders can also expect numbers from the likes of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Corp, software firm Cadence Design Systems Inc and office space investor Alexandria Real Estate (NYSE:ARE) Equities Inc Crypto markets are likely to be in focus amid a surge in the price of Bitcoin, which is currently being eyed to see if it can surpass the US$40,000 threshold for the first time since mid-June Language learning app Duolingo could also draw attention after it increased its IPO range to between US$95-US$100 from a previous range of US$85-US$95 On the macro front, the diary is a little thin aside from US new home sales numbers and the latest Dallas Fed manufacturing index