Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Friday, April 12:
1. JP Morgan kicks off Q1 reporting season
Although some companies have already released numbers, JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) will mark the unofficial start of the first-quarter reporting season on Friday at around 7:00 AM ET (11:00 GMT).
The Dow component and largest U.S. bank by assets is expected to earn $2.36 a share in the quarter on revenue of $28.5 billion.
Investors are watching to see whether its earnings miss in the final quarter of 2018 was a blip, or the beginning of a trend; JPM’s report, to be followed by Wells Fargo's and PNC Financial's (NYSE:PNC) later in the day, could set the tone for the reporting season.
Read more: JPMorgan: Q1 Earnings Will Signal Whether Bank's Best Growth Period Is Over - Haris Anwar
Overall, this earnings season is expected to be a disappointment. FactSet expects earnings for companies in the S&P 500 to decline 4.2%, which would be the first year-over-year decline since the second quarter of 2016.
2. Stocks upbeat while waiting for big bank earnings
Despite a relatively flat close in the prior session, U.S. futures registered modest gains, suggesting upbeat expectations for bank earnings. At 5:32 AM ET (9:32 GMT), the blue-chip Dow futures gained 159 points, or 0.6%, S&P 500 futures rose 11 points, or 0.4%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 29 points, or 0.4%.
Elsewhere, European stock markets were more cautious. The pan-European STOXX 600 was in negative territory, though little changed, as the region’s trading session neared midday.
Earlier, Asian stocks saw mixed trade on Friday with particular attention paid to Chinese stocks. Although the Shanghai Composite ended the session flat, it registered its worst week of losses so far this year.
3. U.S. consumer sentiment expected to weaken
Corporate results aside, the health of the U.S. consumer will dominate Friday’s economic calendar.
The University of Michigan will release its preliminary measure of April consumer confidence at 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT).
The Michigan consumer sentiment index is expected to edge down to 98.1, following two straight months of gains above expectations, according to economist forecasts compiled by Investing.com.
The consumer expectations component is also expected to drop slightly to 88.5.
4. Oil on track for best weekly stretch since 2016
Bulls piled back into oil on Friday, pushing the rally to its best stretch in nearly two years, on the back of continued unrest in exporter countries in north Africa and data showing a slight year-on-year rise in Chinese imports.
U.S. crude oil futures jumped 86 cents, or 1.4%, to $64.44 by 5:36 AM ET (9:36 GMT), while Brent oil traded up 72 cents, or 1.0%, to $71.55.
The International Energy Agency warned Thursday that “there is an extraordinarily wide divergence of view as to how strong growth will be” in 2019, sparking fears over the impact on demand for crude.
West Texas Intermediate oil lost 1.6% on Thursday but, despite the blip, was on track for weekly gains of nearly 2% in what would be its longest weekly winning streak since 2016.
Still ahead, Baker Hughes will release its weekly rig count data, an early indicator of future output in the U.S., at 1:00 PM ET (17:00 GMT).
Last week’s reading showed that energy firms increased the number of oil rigs operating in the U.S., breaking a run of six straight declines as higher prices encouraged more drilling activity.
5. China’s imports from U.S. plunge 28%
While markets follow developments in trade talks between the world’s two largest economies, China produced some mixed trade data to end the first quarter on Friday.
Chinese exports rebounded to a five-month high in March, beating expectations and providing some relief over the outlook for an economic recovery.
At the same time however, imports plunged more than expected, falling for a fourth straight month and matching the decline seen last December.
Picking through the data, the Chinese Customs Department indicated that China’s total trade with the U.S. actually slumped by 11% in the first quarter, driven by a 28% plunge in imports from the U.S.
During the month of March, China’s imports from the U.S. fell by 21%, while Chinese exporters sent 10.6% more of their products to American consumers. Although some analysts commented that Chinese exports may have been affected by seasonality, the numbers give the impression that the current state of trade may not be coming out in favor of the U.S.