Here’s a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow.
1. Lowe's Leads Earnings
The retail sector is in the crosshairs again tomorrow, as a host of companies reports earnings.
Investors will be focusing on Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW), which not only has numbers on retail, but also the housing market, which is the most problematic part of the economy.
On average, analysts predict a profit of 98 cents per share on sales of about $17.4 billion.
The housing sector has been hit hard recently, with KB Home (NYSE:KBH) tumbling last week due to cautious guidance.
Also reporting in the retail sector tomorrow are Kohl’s (NYSE:KSS), TJX (NYSE:TJX) and Best Buy (NYSE:BBY).
2. Housing Starts Expected to Climb
There’s more housing data arriving for investors tomorrow among the economic indicators.
At 8:30 AM ET (13:00 GMT), the government will report numbers on housing starts and building permits.
On average, economists predict that groundbreaking on new homes ticked up to an annual average of 1.225 million.
Building permits, an indicator of future demand, are forecast to slip to a rate of 1.267 million.
3. Oil Keeps Going Higher
Oil could be volatile tomorrow, even with the holiday-shortened week.
Crude continued to see demand, rising more than 1.5% today.
With this week’s Thanksgiving holiday, analysts had thought oil bears might be queasy about building new short positions due to the thinner trading volumes expected from Wednesday as the trade winds down for the break.
“There are signs that the bottom should now be in,” Phil Flynn at Chicago’s Price Futures Group said, citing “bulk demand ahead” in the new year. “Talk of oversupply and slowing demand are overstated in our view, so we are looking for a rebound.”
