An array of bellwether companies will release quarterly earnings next week which should provide a snapshot of the health of a number of important sectors including technology and energy.

Much attention will also be paid to Facebook's (NASDAQ: FB) first earnings report on Thursday, marking the first time the social networking giant will report earnings as a public company.

Also due next week is a preliminary gross domestic product figure, which will reveal whether economic growth is slowing in the U.S. and by how much.

Among the important companies reporting are: Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), AT&T (NYSE: T), Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN), Altria (NYSE: MO), Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), United Parcel Service (NYSE: UPS), Boeing (NYSE: BA), Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Exxon Mobil (XOM), and Chevron (NYSE: CVS).

Apple and Texas Instruments should give an idea of whether consumers are buying electronic devices, while Halliburton and Boeing will gauge demand for big ticket items such as airplanes and defense products.