Jobless Claims, Oil Inventories, Levi Strauss: 3 Things to Watch
2022.07.07 02:21
By Liz Moyer
Investing.com — Stocks rose after the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes from June earlier on Wednesday. Another 0.75-percentage-point increase in interest rates is on the table.
Rising rates tend to deflate high-growth tech stocks, but a hawkish Fed may put worries to rest that interest rates will linger higher for longer.
The Fed’s minutes showed policymakers favored moving to a “restrictive stance of policy, and they recognized the possibility that an even more restrictive stance could be appropriate if elevated inflation pressures were to persist.”
Tech stocks rallied to help steady the broader market.
Lately, people have stopped focusing so much on inflation and started focusing on a possible recession, something the Fed has acknowledged could be difficult to avoid. Ideally, it wants a soft landing, meaning lower inflation without eating into jobs.
The next big data point hanging out there is June’s jobs report, which is expected on Friday. Analysts expect the economy added 268,000 jobs last month, which is down from the 390,000 reported for May.
Bank earnings kick off next week, and business conditions for the major lenders will have the attention of Wall Street as it assesses the longer-term damage from sustained higher prices. On the consumer side, analysts will be looking for trends in credit quality as well as new mortgages and other loans.
Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:
1. Jobless claims
Before the nonfarm payrolls report, Thursday will give us the weekly jobless claims, and analysts expect the number to hold steady at 230,000 from the week earlier. There are 11.25 million job openings, which beat expectations for 11 million.
2. Crude inventories
This week’s big story has been the collapse of crude oil prices below $100 a barrel. On Thursday, after the holiday weekend, the government releases crude inventory data. Analysts expect a draw of 1.04 million barrels.
3. Levi Strauss earnings
Levi Strauss & Co (NYSE:LEVI) is expected to report earnings of 23 cents a share on revenue of $1.4 billion.
