Investing.com - Here’s a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow.
1. Walmart Reports as It Takes Aim at Amazon
After a strong results from Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) today let the market know the Chinese consumer is still resilient, investors will see the health of U.S. shopping in the form of quarterly results from Walmart.
Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is expected to post a profit of $1.02 per share, according to analysts’ forecasts compiled by Investing.com. Sales are predicted to come in around $125 billion.
Bernstein upgraded the stock earlier this month to outperform from market perform, saying the retailer’s strategy is strong and it’s the only full-scale challenger to Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Walmart announced yesterday that it’s introducing next-day shipping.
Manchester United (NYSE:MANU) proved to supporters they were great at dropping points this season. Before the bell the English football club gets the chance to prove to investors they’re at least still good at growing revenue. Analysts are looking for revenue to come in at $157 million, up from $137.5 million in the year-ago period.
After the close, recently public Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) will issue its first earnings report. Analysts are looking for a loss of 16 cents per share on revenue of about $200 million.
Semiconductor sector companies Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) will also report.
2. Housing Starts, Permits Expected to Rise
The economic calendar is pretty busy before the bell tomorrow. At 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT), there will be April housing numbers. Housing starts are forecast to have risen 6.2% last month to an annual rate 1.205 million, according to economists’ estimates compiled by Investing.com. Building permits, an indication of future demand, are expected to have risen 0.5% to an annual rate of 1.29 million.
At the same time, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve will release its measure of manufacturing activity in the region. The Philly Fed index is seen edging up to 10. And, as usual, the latest weekly figures on initial jobless claims arrive. Claims for first-time unemployment benefits are forecast to have fallen to 220,000.
3. Kashkari to Speak on Rates
Minnesota Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari will be speaking tomorrow, and the market will be looking for any more Fed reaction to President Donald Trump’s call for a rate cut and quantitative easing to help him best China. Kashkari will speak at 12:05 PM ET (16:05 GMT) at the Santa Barbara County Economic Summit on interest rates, monetary policy and the economy.
Today, fed fund futures were pricing in a 75% chance that interest rates would be lower in December, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.