Investing.com - Here’s a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow.
1. Midterms, Midterms, Midterms
That could easily be the three things that move the markets tomorrow. Stocks will be all about reacting to the election results.
Shares finished up today, but investors will be watching results from across the U.S. closely. Exit polls will start to come in at 5 PM ET (22:00 GMT).
Wall Street tends to prefer a GOP victory under the theory that Republican governments are friendlier toward business and prefer fewer regulations. But the market has been jolted amid the more populist moves by President Donald Trump and those could be tempered by a Democratic win in the House.
What probably doesn’t hold water is the idea that government gridlock is an impediment to stock gains, given the tremendous current bull run, which continued through times of intense partisan battling.
If the Democrats do take control of the House, stocks could still benefit from a likely bipartisan agreement to boost infrastructure spending, according to Briefing.com, which outlined the impact on different sectors based on three election scenarios.
GOP control of Congress would likely benefit the defense sector and raise the possibility of a capital gains tax cut. A surprise Democratic victory to take both houses of Congress would spell trouble for fossil fuel companies, Briefing.com said.
2. Humana, Retail Results Come Ahead of Trading
While politics will dominate the headlines and airwaves, there are plenty of earnings reports before and after the bell that will move individual stocks.
Insurer Humana (NYSE:HUM) weighs in ahead of trading.
On average, analysts expect Humana to post a profit of $4.27 per share on revenue of a little less than $14 billion.
The stock is little changed in the last month but shows solid gains year to date.
Humana could also react to the midterm results, as a continued Republican majority in both houses could lead to the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, limiting visibility for health insurers.
In retail ahead of trading, Office Depot (NASDAQ:ODP) reports numbers and Michael Kors (NYSE:KORS) issues results.
Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA) will also report as it moves to completes the sale of its film business and some TV assets to Disney (NYSE:DIS).
After the bell investors will get a glimpse of how the beverage business is performing, with numbers from Keurig Dr Pepper (NYSE:KDP) out and the latest numbers from Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST).
3. Oil Inventories on Tap
Oil prices could continue their downward trajectory tomorrow, depending on how the latest inventory data turn out.
Crude oil futures fell today, with sellers convinced that the Trump administration’s sanction waivers given to buyers of Iranian crude should leave enough supply.
Eight importers of Iranian crude -- China, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey -- will be allowed to continue buying from the Islamic Republic "temporarily," the Trump administration announced on Monday.
The market learned on Tuesday that the waivers will be for 180 days.
The latest U.S. stockpiles numbers come at 10:30 AM ET (15:30 GMT).
Analysts predict week oil inventories rose by 2.433 million barrels, compared with a build of 3.217 million.