By Dhirendra Tripathi

-- Stocks fell on Tuesday but erased some of those losses, as investors returned after an extended holiday weekend to news that Russia had sent troops to separatist regions in eastern Ukraine to the condemnation of European and American Allies.

President Joe Biden was expected to add sanctions for the move as the West continues to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop his aggressions in Ukraine. Biden views the moves as an invasion, according to reports on Tuesday.

Not helping things in the stock market, Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) sold off after it reported a decline in gross profit margin for the last quarter after rising transportation and employee costs. 

Of course the destabilization of Ukraine meant energy prices rose, with WTI crude, the American benchmark, jumping 2%. Germany stopped the progression of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was supposed to be Russia’s gas connection to Europe.

The CBOE volatility index, also known as Wall Street's fear gauge, was at 29.40, well above its long-term average of 20, Reuters reported.

While the situation in Ukraine continues to rapidly evolve, stocks will await more earnings on Wednesday along with the latest reading on oil inventories from the industry.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. Lowe’s earnings

The construction and home decorating retailer Lowe’s Companies Inc (NYSE:LOW) will declare its fourth-quarter numbers Wednesday. The company is expected to report a profit per share of $1.71 on revenue of $20.91 billion, according to analysts tracked by .

2. Travel rebound?

Booking Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:BKNG)’ fourth-quarter revenue is expected to be $2.86 billion with profit per share at $13.40, according to analysts tracked by . Analysts will be waiting to see if there are signs of a return to travel and leisure now that the Omicron variant of Covid-19 appears to be winding down.

3. Industry inventories

The oil industry’s reading on the latest crude inventory levels was delayed a day because of the holiday. The API will report last week’s levels at 4:30 PM ET on Wednesday. The reading for the previous week was a draw of 1.07 million.

–Reuters and staff contributed to this report