By Dhirendra Tripathi

Fxgecko.com -- Stocks fell on Monday after news out of the U.K. of the first death from the Omicron coronavirus variant, as investors paused for this week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting.

The two-day meeting kicks off Tuesday. The Fed is expected to consider speeding up the wind-down of its bond buying program so it can turn to raising rates amid higher inflation.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said as much last month in Congressional hearings, with expectations rising for two or even three rate increases next year. The Fed has held short-term rates close to zero to support the economy during the pandemic.

Stocks of travel and leisure companies were weighed down by the news of the U.K. death, on uncertainty about a fresh wave of travel restrictions and lockdowns even over the holiday season.

Balancing out the negative news about the fast spread of Omicron, vaccines and antibody treatments continue to show positive developments, especially after a booster shot boosts immunity.

This week is light on data as well as earnings, aside from the Fed’s two-day meeting, after which it is expected to update on its outlook for rates next year.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. Producer prices

U.S. producer or wholesale prices, a measure of inflation before goods and services reach the end-consumer, are likely to have risen in November by 0.5%, a tad cooler than October’s 0.6% on a month-on-month basis. The data are released at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT).

On a year-on-year basis, it’s likely to have surged by 9.2% against 8.6% in the prior month.

2. Core wholesale inflation

The so-called core inflation at the wholesale level, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, gained 0.4% in November, the same increase as October’s. On a year-on-year basis, November’s hike is seen at 7.2%, sharper than October’s 6.8%.

3. Apple’s big number

Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock inched higher on Monday and touched a lifetime high in a weak market. The stock touched a lifetime high of $182.09 to reach a market cap of $2.98 trillion on Monday.

The company is already the most valuable in the world and could be the first company to hit the $3 trillion mark in market value.