Investing.com - Here's a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow.
1. General Electric , Honeywell Earnings Eyed
Corporate earnings will continue to weigh heavily on market direction amid a lack of top-tier economic data on the calendar for Friday.
Quarterly earnings from both General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) and Honeywell International Inc (NYSE:HON) due Friday will likely garner the most attention amid a slew of earnings from several companies including Schlumberger, Baker Hughes, State Street, SunTrust Banks and others.
General Electric, which has undergone a revamp under the stewardship of CEO John Flannery, reports second-quarter results before market open.
General Electric is expected to report earnings of 17 cents a share on revenue of $29.23 billion.
The industrial conglomerate's guidance for full-year 2018 earnings will likely be closely scrutinized after the company said in its first-quarter earnings call that earnings per share (EPS) will likely trend toward the lower end of guidance.
GE's aviation segment will also warrant close attention as it was one of the main factors that supported profit growth in the first quarter.
General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) stock closed 0.15% lower at $13.73.
Honeywell, meanwhile, is expected to report second-quarter earnings of $2.01 a share on revenue of $10.82 billion.
2. Will Microsoft Earnings, Revenue Beat Lift Nasdaq?
Shares of Microsoft rose modestly during afterhours trade, as the tech giant topped expectations on both the top and bottom lines amid double-digit revenue growth across all segments.
Microsoft reported earnings of $1.13 cents per share on $30.09 billion in revenue. That was above Wall Street estimates of $1.08 per share on revenue of $29.21 billion.
A uptick in its more personal computing segment boosted quarterly performance, as the segment saw revenue grow to $10.8 billion for the quarter, up 17% from the same period a year ago.
Microsoft’s cloud business continued to strengthen as Azure, a competitor of Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) Web Services, showed robust growth as product sales soared 89% for the quarter.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) stock rose 0.24% to $104.75 in afterhours trade.
3. US Rig Count Data; Oil Prices Recovery in Focus
The weekly instalment of drilling activity from Baker Hughes on Friday, will provide investors with clues on U.S. oil production, which hit a record high last week, a government report showed.
U.S. oil output rose by 100,000 barrels last week to a record 11.0 million barrels per day, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.
Data last week showed the rise in U.S. oil rigs steadied at 863, unchanged from the prior week.
The U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude contract for August delivery, which expires on Friday, settled 70 cents, or 1% higher at $69.46 on Thursday amid falling U.S. and Saudi output.
U.S. oil prices, however, are set to post a second weekly slump after falling more than 4% on Monday on comments from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, hinting at the prospect of the U.S. providing waivers to some Iranian crude buyers.