The Week Ahead: Blue Chip Tech Firms Report

Jeremy Glaser: It’s a busy week as we enter the heart of earnings season, the Fed meets, and we get lots of data.

A number of blue-chip technology firms are due to report this week, with Microsoft on Wednesday, followed by Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, and Apple on Thursday.

Other earnings include pharma giants Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Merck; Visa and MasterCard; ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell; McDonald's, AT&T, Sprint, and Boeing.

The Fed will release its rate decision on Wednesday and the market broadly expects the central bank to stay put at this meeting and to wait until March to raise rates again.

On the data front, two pieces will be the most closely watched. The first is personal consumption and its underlying inflation gauge on Monday. The second is Friday's jobs report.

Other data on tap include the ISM manufacturing gauge, auto sales, productivity, factory orders, and consumer sentiment.

Stay tuned for our take on all of these stories.