Day Ahead: Top 3 Things to Watch

Investing.com - Here are three things that might rock the markets June 27.

1. Home Sales and Claims

Top-tier economic data is on calendar for tomorrow in the form of pending home sales, jobless claims and GDP.

Pending homes sales for May will take on added scrutiny following yesterday’s unexpected drop in new home sales.

The National Association of Realtors will issue its latest data on pending home sales at 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT).

On average, economists predict that pending home sales rose 1.1% in May, compared with a 1.5% decline in April.

On the jobs front, the Labor Department releases its weekly count of the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance. The report is due at 8:30 am ET (13:30 GMT) for the week ended June 23.

Economists are expecting jobless claims rose to 220,000 from 216,000 the prior week.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis will report its final reading on first-quarter gross domestic product at 8:30 AM ET (13:30 GMT).

Economists, on average, expect an unchanged reading at 3.1%, according to forecasts compiled by Investing.com.

2. Walgreens, ConAgra Foods, Nike Earnings on Deck

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) is set to report earnings before U.S. markets open. Guidance will likely be closely watched as the backdrop for health care stocks has been far from pretty.

Health care companies have come under increasing scrutiny over drug prices, raising fears that regulatory pressures look set to continue following President Donald Trump's executive order, signed on Monday, that aimed to lower healthcare costs by improving price transparency.

As well as the impact of regulatory headwinds, consumer market challenges in the U.S. and U.K. have also weighed on Walgreens.

Analysts expect the retail and health care company to report earnings of $1.44 a share on revenue of about $34.5 billion for the fiscal third quarter.

ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) is also set to release earnings before the bell, with analysts keen to see whether the boost from its Pinnacle Foods acquisition will continue drive growth and help offset higher transportation and input costs.

ConAgra Food is expected to deliver earnings of $0.41 a share on revenue of about $2.7 billion.

Nike (NYSE:NKE), meanwhile, will report its earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter after the U.S. closing bell.

In the run up to the athletic apparel’s earnings, some have touted optimism.

"Based on numerous channel checks, and commentary by retailers and other brands, it is clear to us that, due to a strong product pipeline across distribution channels," Susquehanna Financial Group analysts said in a note. "Nike has just begun taking share from other brands, and such share taking will continue for the foreseeable future,”

Nike is expected report earnings of 66 cents a share on revenue of $10.16 billion.

3. Natural Gas Supply Data on Watch

Natural gas futures will be in spotlight Thursday when the Energy Information Administration is expected to report gas storage fell by 104 billion cubic feet last week.

Natural gas futures fell 0.31% to $2.28 on Wednesday, following a strong start to the week on expectations for higher demand after Bespoke Weather Services’ forecast for a hotter first week of July.

“The totality of the data, while not as strong as last week in terms of balances, is improved today,” Bespoke said. “Production is starting off slightly lower than the starting point the last few days, and we see a little improvement in preliminary burns this morning.”

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