The crisis in Ukraine is expected to remain a concern for equity and commodity markets, likely driving volatile trading action. At the same time, the Federal Reserve is on the cusp of making a significant change in policy over the coming days.

Economic calendar and news

The end of easy monetary policy is now firmly within sight, with the US Federal Reserve all but certain to lift interest rates on Wednesday US-time following its two-day meeting.

It is a move that has been widely telegraphed for the best part of several months now, and while some pundits were at one stage leaning towards a half-percentage point hike, events in Ukraine look as though the Fed will adopt a more cautious quarter-percentage point hike from zero.

Of more interest, however, is the Fed updated forecasts for interest rates, inflation and the economy at large. These projections will be published at the same time as the announcement of the interest rate decision, as well as any possible clues on how the Fed manages its balance sheet.

It is probable that Fed Chair Jerome Powell will cite the increasing risks facing the global economy and inflation, both arising from the war. The first glimpse of this came late last week when the consumer price index reading pointed to inflation of 7.9% - another fresh 40-year high - while the impact of rising fuel prices could push that rate sharply higher by the time we see the reading for March.

Among the other data-points this week, look out for the producer price index on Tuesday US-time, followed by February retail sales a day later and existing home sales at the end of the week.Meanwhile, Tuesday sees the Reserve Bank of Australia publish the minutes from its most-recent Board meeting, offering some insight into the central bank views on the risks arising from geopolitical conflict in Europe. 

It also that time of month for the local jobs data, with the unemployment rate up for analysis on Thursday. The figure has plateaued in recent months, and it is expected to remain steady despite expectations of a further 40,000 jobs being added to the economy in February.

Stocks on watch

Tech stocks are likely to be one area creating some noise this week, which comes after the Nasdaq officially entered a bear market to end last week. That means the tech-heavy index is now off more than 20% from its recent high.

Even mega-tech names have been caught up in the sell-off, with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Meta (NASDAQ: FB) and Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) shares each slumping over 5% last week, and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) also coming under selling pressure. Some investors will be looking for a rebound in these names to lift the broader market, but it remains to be seen if and when that might be the case.Chinese tech firms are also facing a new bout of negative sentiment, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong closed at its lowest level in more than five-and-a-half years. Shares like Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), JD.com (NASDAQ: JD) and Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) - each dual-listed in Hong Kong and the US - are just a few of the names that have plummeted to new multi-year lows.The buy-now pay-later crowd are also facing a tough time at the moment. Although shares in Square (NYSE: SQ) recently took flight following its results, the stock has since come off the boil by about 20%, while PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) has been trending lower towards its recent 52-week low. On Friday, Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) plunged 15.6% to hit an all-time low after the US BNPL player cancelled its debt offering in the wake of market volatility.

If tech isn't the main watch-point this week, then commodities may well get another run in the spotlight. The price of a number of commodities have taken off since the war in Ukraine broke out, and last week saw oil spike to almost US$140 a barrel before dropping below US$110.

The nickel market remains in limbo, with the London Metal Exchange extending its pause on trading after the price of the commodity spiked to over US$100,000 per tonne on the back of a short squeeze. As the LME continues to work towards implementing new measures to bring more order' to the market, shareholders in Nickel Mines (ASX: NIC) may be watching closely after one of its key backers, Tsingshan, was at the heart of a failed short bet, and the company also cancelled its $18 million Share Purchase Plan (SPP).Despite market volatility, a number of ASX names have chalked up 52-week highs recently, including Incitec Pivot (ASX: IPL), Sims (ASX: SGM), Nufarm (ASX: NUF), Silver Lake Resources (ASX: SLR) and lithium duo Core Lithium (ASX: CXO) and Lake Resources (ASX: LKE).