Yahoo Finance Day Ahead: Top 3 Things to Watch
Investing.com - Here’s a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow
1. Jobless Claims, Durable Goods, Bond Yields in Focus
U.S. bond yields are expected to continue to monopolise investor focus as top-tier U.S. economic data could strengthen investor expectations for sustained economic growth and inflation.
The Commerce Department’s report on core durable goods orders due 8:30 am ET is expected to show a 0.5% increase for March, slower than the 1% rise seen in the prior month.
The Labor Department releases its weekly count of the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the week ended April 20, expected to show jobless claims fell to 230,000 from 232,000 the prior week. Continuing jobless claims are forecast to fall to 1.850 million from 1.863 million the prior week.
Continued tightness in the labor market, leading to an uptick in wage growth has contributed to the turnaround in inflation, which is set to hit the Federal Reserve’s 2% target in the coming quarter, according to Wells Fargo.
“With real GDP accelerating in the coming quarter and core inflation reaching 2% around the same time, we believe the Fed will hike three more times this year,” Wells Fargo said Wednesday in a weekly note to clients.
Investors will also be watching EUR/USD as the European Central Bank on Thursday at 07:45 am ET is widely expected to stand pat on interest rates but could tout a willingness to consider a more hawkish outlook on monetary policy.
The dollar rose sharply against a basket of major currencies, as the U.S. 10-year treasury yield added to gains above 3%.
2. Natural Gas Inventories, Crude Oil Rally in Focus
Natural gas prices traded roughly flat on Wednesday ahead of data expected to show an ongoing draw in natural gas storage.
The Energy Information Agency’s weekly natural gas storage report is expected show gas storage fell by 12 billion cubic feet last week.
Natural gas prices are expected to remain range-bound despite storage levels plunging to a 4 year-low.
Traders are also expected to monitor developments in oil markets as crude oil prices shrugged off an unexpected rise in crude supplies.
Crude futures settled at $68.05 a barrel, up 35 cents.
3. Facebook to Lift Nasdaq From Funk?
Shares of Facebook rallied in afterhours trade on Wednesday, after a strong quarterly report from the tech giant beat estimates on both top and bottom lines.
The tech giant reported earnings-per-share of $1.69 per share on $11.97 billion in revenue against analysts’ expectations of earnings-per-share of $1.35 on $11.41 billion in revenue.
Monthly active users (MAUs), one of the metrics that analysts use to gauge the health of the company, increased to 2.2 billion in the first quarter, in-line with Wall Street estimates.
Daily active users (DAUs), showed robust growth for the quarter, rising to 1.45 billion, in line with Wall Street estimates.
Facebook's quarterly results come as CEO Mark Zuckerberg vowed to implement changes to secure user data following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
“We are taking a broader view of our responsibility and investing to make sure our services are used for good,” Zuckerberg said.
Investors remained keen to establish how the proposed measures to secure the platform and the recent fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal would impact future performance.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) traded at $166.53 up 4.40% in after-hours trade, after closing flat at $159.69.
The NASDAQ Composite closed flat at 7,003.74.
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