Investors ready for U.S. earnings as inflation worries run high – Reuters

Investors ready for U.S. earnings as inflation worries run high – Reuters

NEW YORK, Jan 12 (Reuters) - U.S. companies will post results in the coming weeks on the final quarter of 2021 as investors worry about inflation's impact on earnings and pressure on the Federal Reserve to speed up the timeline for kicking off interest rate hikes.

The concerns, along with caution tied to the fast-spreading COVID-19 Omicron variant, have driven a recent market sell-off, led by Nasdaq and shares of technology and other big growth companies that have benefited from low interest rates.

Year-over-year profit growth for S&P 500 companies is expected to be lower in the fourth quarter than it was in first three quarters of 2021 but still strong at 22.4%, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.