Dollar Tree, retailer earnings, Affirm reports: 3 things to watch

Investing.com -- Stocks were rallying on Wednesday ahead of this weekend's much-anticipated meeting of Federal Reserve officials in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Friday at the annual conference, which comes a few weeks before the Fed's rate policy group will meet again to decide the next move on interest rates.

Powell is seen using the speech on Friday to set expectations for the central bank's work on taming inflation, which has been cooling but has yet to get back down to its 2% target. The Fed raised rates in July after pausing in June. Futures traders expect another pause in September, but the outlook on whether another rate hike this year will happen is foggier. There's about a 35% probability of another quarter-point hike in November.

What the Fed does longer term is also something investors will be listening for in Powell's speech. Some analysts have been projecting that rate cuts could come sometime next year, though others believe rates will have to stay higher for longer in order to achieve the inflation goals.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. Dollar Tree earnings

Discount retailer Dollar Tree Inc (NASDAQ: DLTR) is expected to report earnings per share of 87 cents on revenue of $7.18 billion.

2. More retail reports

Casual clothing retailer Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS) is expected to report earnings per share of 10 cents on revenue of $3.58B, while department store chain Nordstrom Inc (NYSE: JWN) is expected to report earnings per share of 45 cents on revenue of $3.68B.

3. Affirm reports

The buy now pay later fintech Affirm Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: AFRM) is expected to report a per-share loss of 86 cents on revenue of $406.1 million.

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