(Repeating SCHEDULED COLUMN originally published on July 24, no

changes)

* Fed seen holding rates on Wednesday, some investors

uncertain

* Microsoft ( MSFT ), Meta, Amazon ( AMZN ) to report after Alphabet

disappoints

* Apple ( AAPL ), Visa, Chevron ( CVX ) also set to report in busiest Q2 week

By Lewis Krauskopf

NEW YORK, July 24 (Reuters) - A wobbly U.S. stock market

will take its cues in the coming week from a Federal Reserve

meeting set to shed light on the path for interest rates, and

from a packed slate of corporate earnings led by technology

companies and heavyweights in artificial intelligence.

Major equity indexes posted weekly declines, dragged down on

the week by steep slides in Alphabet and Tesla

following their quarterly reports.

The fallout for Google parent Alphabet, sparked in part by an

increase in its already massive AI spending plans, set a

negative tone ahead of results next week from other AI

"hyperscalers": Microsoft ( MSFT ), Amazon ( AMZN ) and Meta

Platforms ( META ).

AI-related stocks have been at the heart of equity market gains

this year, helping drive the bull market near to its fourth

year. Despite this week's stumble, the benchmark S&P 500

is still up over 8% in 2026, while the market "feels very

frothy," said Kristina Hooper, chief market strategist at Man

Group.

"Investors are, to a certain extent, walking on eggshells,"

Hooper said. "And they're more likely to react negatively to any

signs of imperfection."

WILL FED HOLD RATES STEADY?

Meanwhile, the Fed meeting comes as oil prices have shot up due

to escalating tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude hit $100

a barrel on Thursday.

That has fanned fears that policymakers will need to be more

aggressive in raising rates to control inflation, which

consistently has run well above the Fed's 2% annual target.

The central bank was expected to hold rates steady when it gives

its monetary policy statement on Wednesday, with Fed funds

futures late on Friday pricing in a 38% chance of a

quarter-percentage-point rate increase, according to LSEG data.

But there was still some uncertainty on Wall Street over whether

the Fed, whose new chair, Kevin Warsh, is overhauling monetary

policy communication, might surprise markets.

"The possibility of a shock rate hike cannot be ruled out

entirely," BNP Paribas economists said in a note this week.

The meeting will be the second under Warsh, who has shunned

forward guidance while vowing to bring inflation down to target.

"He's really not showing the Fed's cards," said Paul Nolte,

senior wealth advisor and market strategist at Murphy & Sylvest

Wealth Management.

INVESTORS SEEK SIGNS ABOUT FED RATE HIKES

Even if the central bank holds rates steady on Wednesday,

investors will look for hints about the future path of rates in

the policy statement and Warsh's ensuing press conference. Fed

funds futures are factoring in two quarter-point rate hikes by

the January 2027 meeting.

"If you get the feeling that there are more committee

members that are moving towards these multi-hike scenarios over

the balance of the year, then I think that's going to be a

problem for the market," said Scott Wren, senior global market

strategist at the Wells Fargo Investment Institute.

Higher interest rates raise borrowing costs for consumers

and companies, slowing the economy and often weighing on stocks.

They can also translate into higher Treasury yields, which

already have been rising in recent weeks, creating competition

for equities. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield

topped 4.7% on Thursday, reaching its highest level since early

2025. Yields move opposite to the price of bonds.

Investors also get a series of updates on the U.S. economy

next week, with reports due on second-quarter gross domestic

product, monthly inflation and consumer sentiment.

BIG EARNINGS WEEK, INCLUDING BIG AI SPENDERS

About one-third of S&P 500 companies are expected to post

results, making it the busiest week of the second-quarter

reporting season, including Apple ( AAPL ), Visa, Chevron ( CVX )

and Coca-Cola.

With more than 80 companies already having reported, S&P 500

second-quarter earnings were on track to post a 26.5% increase

on last year, according to LSEG IBES data as of Wednesday -- a

huge profit boost that Wall Street had been anticipating and

incorporating into stock prices ahead of earnings.

AI spending has been a central driver of stock prices in 2026,

boosting semiconductor firms and companies involved in building

data centers and other infrastructure.

But there have also been increasing investor concerns about

whether the big spenders will recoup their massive investments.

That issue arose with Alphabet's report and could play into how

investors react next week to quarterly reports from Microsoft ( MSFT ),

Amazon ( AMZN ) and Meta.

The companies could easily meet earnings expectations and

give strong guidance for the next quarter, but still be punished

by the market as investors' perspective on the AI spending

shifts, Man Group's Hooper said.

"Where they saw opportunities, now they're more likely to

see risks," she added.