Investing.com - Here’s a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow
General Electric earnings in the spotlight
General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) reports second-quarter earnings before US markets open tomorrow, in what will be CEO Jeffrey Immelt’s last earnings call before passing the leadership baton to John Flannery, who currently heads GE’s healthcare decision.
Despite the change in leadership, some analysts expect General Electric to keep with its restructuring plans to consolidate certain business segments and focus on its core industrial operations.
Meanwhile the company’s massive backlog of orders, which rose to $324.3 billion in the last quarter is likely to come under scrutiny, as investors question when those products are likely to be delivered and become revenues for the company.
GE is expected to report earnings of $0.25 per share, on revenue of $29.12 billion
Canadian macro data on tap
USD/CAD could be the ‘one to watch’ on Friday, as Canadian inflation and retail sales data is expected to provide the loonie with fresh direction, following the Bank of Canada’s decision to hike its benchmark rate earlier this month.
Economists expect retail sales for May to show a decline to 0.3% from 1.5% in the prior month while the pace of inflation for June is expected to have declined by 0.2%.
On Wednesday, the oil-sensitive loonie touched its strongest since early May 2016 at C$1.2578, as bullish US crude inventory data pushed oil prices to settle at session highs.
Slowdown in US rigs to continue?
The weekly instalment of drilling activity from Baker Hughes on Friday, will be closely watched by investors, 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 a second-straight week of gains, ahead of Opec’s meeting on July 24.