Stock Markets Face Biggest Test in Years. The Fed, Tech Earnings, and Oil Are Colliding.

U.S. stocks are braced for perhaps the most active two-day stretch in years starting Wednesday, with a key Federal Reserve interest-rate decision and a Senate vote to approve a new chair, a host of megacap tech earnings, and data on growth, jobs and inflation that will determine the early impact of the ongoing war with Iran. Wall Street looks to have gathered itself from Tuesday’s selloff, which was triggered in part by a report in The Wall Street Journal that outlined challenges at OpenAI, including missed revenue targets, that hammered the tech sector and pulled the 0.9% lower into the close of trading. Stock futures suggest modestly firmer sentiment at the opening bell, but that could fade quickly as investors digest one of the busiest slates in recent memory over the coming days, including a host of earnings, a Senate Banking Committee vote on the confirmation of Fed Chair nominee Kevin Warsh, the central bank’s April rate decision and updates from four of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech giants after the closing bell.