Investing.com – Here’s a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow
Slowdown in inflation to continue?
On the heels of disappointing wholesale inflation data on Thursday, investors look ahead to the release of consumer inflation data due Friday, expected to show modest improvement for July.
Analysts expect a 0.2% increase in inflation to 1.8% for July, compared to 1.6% in June.
An uptick in the pace of inflation could strengthen the case for a third rate rise this year, boosting demand for the greenback, as the Federal Reserve kept rates steady at its policy meeting in July, following concerns over the slowdown in inflation.
Speeches by Fed officials Robert Kaplan and Neel Kashkari are expected to be closely monitor by investors for any clues concerning future monetary policy, after Kashkari earlier this week expressed concerns about the current pace of inflation.
Baker Hughes rig count
The weekly instalment of drilling activity from Baker Hughes on Friday, will provide investors with fresh insight into U.S. oil production and demand, after the number of active drilling rigs has slowed in recent weeks.
The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.
At Thursday’s settlement price, crude futures remained on track to post their second-straight weekly loss amid fresh oversupply jitters, following a report showing Opec output rose in July. That despite the current pact to curb production by 1.8m barrels per day.
Snap to slump on market open?
Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP), could come under pressure on Friday, after the social media company reported a lower-than-expected number of daily active users for Snapchat, its popular messaging app, for the second quarter amid stiff competition from Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Instagram.
Snap said on Thursday its daily active users (DAUs) rose to 173 million in the quarter ended June 30, below expectations of a rise to 175.2 million DAUs.
Snap posted an earnings loss of 16 cents per share on $181.67 million in revenue, missing Wall Street estimates of a loss of 14 cents per share on $186.2 million in revenue.
Shares of Snap fell nearly 13% in extended trading.