A couple of high-profile earnings reports and the ECB decision to hike interest rates in the eurozone drove action on Wall Street last week.

Early in the week, traders and investors were pleasantly surprised by an earnings report from Netflix that beat analyst estimates. In addition, the video streaming giant gave upbeat guidance for subscriber growth for the third quarter due to a strong beginning for the fourth season of "Stranger Things."

That sparked a two-day rally in the large-cap tech shares in the tech-heavy NASDAQ.

Then they were strong results from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup to lit up the financial sector, which accounts for a big part of the S&P 500 index.

And there was the ECB decision to hike interest rates by 50 basis points in the latter part of the week, double the 0.25-basis points markets had expected, instilling a sense of confidence among bond traders that the eurozone's central bank is serious about fighting inflation. Thus, the strong rally in the debt markets, with the 10-year Treasury bond yields dropping below 2.80%.

Lower bond yields turned the risk button on in the equity markets, fueling the rally in the technology shares, which spread to other high-risk sectors like cryptocurrencies.

Still, there was a spoiler at the end of the week, a big earnings and revenues miss by Snap Inc., which took the technology sector down on Friday trade.

"This week, the stock market chained together three good days, creating the best three-day rally for some time for U.S. equities," Jas Thandi, an Aon Partner of Portfolio Strategy, told International Business Times in an email. "But the market looked as though it was set to close lower on Friday evening, as the reality of a risky earning season continued to sink in for market participants."

What's next? Thandi said he sees "markets continuing to swing between the fear of a recession, downward earnings revisions, and a persistent inflationary environment."

Thandi added that "what markets are concerned about will depend on that week's news."

Kunal Sawhney, CEO of Kalkine Group, sees earnings reports driving Wall Street momentum in the near term.

"The earnings season is also here with mega-cap companies reporting their quarterly earnings, influencing the short-term sentiments of traders," Sawhney told IBT in an email.

Mega-cup companies derive a big chunk of their earnings revenues from overseas markets, which the strong dollar could hurt.

Last week, IBM reported a $3.5 billion revenue shortfall due to the strong dollar. Thus, there could be a few surprises in the mega-caps reports next week and take the market for another wild ride.

But another factor influencing trader sentiment next week is monetary policy, with the Federal Open Market Operation Committee (FOMC) issuing its policy decision on Wednesday. Most market analysts expect a 75-basis interest rate hike, but there could be surprises here, too. Like a 100-basis points hike, the nation's central banks may want to prove to Wall Street that it is vigilant in fighting inflation.

Markets have already discounted the 75-basis point, so it will be a non-event if the Fed goes with that hike. But it will be a big event if it goes with the 100-basis point hike, with unpredictable consequences for the debt and the equity markets.