1. Durable Goods Orders Seen Falling
The latest measure of spending on long-lasting goods leads the economic calendar tomorrow.
The Commerce Department will release February durable goods orders 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT).
Orders for goods that last thee or more years are expected to have fallen 1.1% in February, according to economists’ forecasts compiled by Briefing.com.
Core durable goods orders, which exclude transportation, are expected to be up 0.3% for the month. Orders for non-defense items, excluding aircraft, are forecast to rise 0.1%.
2. Walgreen’s Leads Earnings Calendar
The biggest company on the earnings calendar tomorrow is Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA), which joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average last fall.
The pharmacy, retail and distribution giant is expected to report $1.72 a share in the second fiscal quarter, according to analysts polled by Investing.com. That would be down slightly from a year ago’s $1.73. Revenue is expected to rise 4.7% to $34.56 billion.
The stock was the worst first-quarter performer among the 30 Dow stocks, falling 7.4%.
Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (NASDAQ:PLAY), which operates high-volume restaurants and bars, is expected to report 63 cents in the fiscal fourth quarter, up 2 cents from a year ago. Revenue is seen growing 6.5% to $324.5 million.
And GameStop (NYSE:GME), the big video-game retailer, is expected to earn $1.58 a share in the fiscal-fourth quarter, down from $2.02 a share a year ago. Revenue is projected at $3.28 billion, up very slightly from a year ago.
The company announced Monday it will add two directors to its board from investor groups unhappy with the company’s performance. The stock has been struggling for the last year.
3. Crude Prices to Extend Rally?
A fresh batch of petroleum data from the American Petroleum Institute due Tuesday is expected to be closely watched to gauge whether U.S. crude supplies continue to increase, threatening the rally in oil prices.
The API last week reported crude oil stockpiles rose by 1.93 million barrels for the week ended March 22.
Crude oil futures gained 2.4% to settle at $61.59 a barrel today on improved China and U.S. manufacturing data, and risk-on sentiment. Oil prices were also boosted by positive remarks from Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, who touted the prospect of extending the production-cut agreement.
“My understanding is, there is no difficulty extending the cooperation. It should be easy” to prolong the deal beyond the first half of the year, Zanganeh told reporters in Moscow following a meeting with his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak.
Oil prices soared 33% in the first quarter, driven by OPEC+ output cuts and sanctions on Iran and, more recently, Venezuela.