Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Tuesday, May 15:
1. U.S. Retail Sales In Focus
The Commerce Department will publish data on retail sales for April at 8:30AM ET (12:30GMT).
The consensus forecast is that the report will show retail sales rose 0.4% last month, moderating from a gain of 0.6% in March. But excluding the automobile sector, sales are expected to increase 0.5%, after a 0.2% rise a month earlier.
Economists reckon the data will help further shape the debate over how many times the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates through the end of this year after somewhat disappointing inflation figures out of the U.S. last week.
A survey on manufacturing activity in New York state and a reading on homebuilder sentiment in May will fill out the economic data schedule on Tuesday.
On the central bank front, market players will pay close attention to comments from incoming New York Fed President John Williams, who is due to speak at the Economic Club of Minnesota's May Luncheon at 12:45PM ET (1645GMT).
In addition, the nominee for Fed vice chairman, Richard Clarida, as well as Michelle Bowman, who was nominated to be a Fed governor, will both face Congress on Tuesday for their confirmation hearings.
The U.S. dollar was little changed, while the yield on the 10-year Treasury note poked back above the 3% handle.
Investors have fully priced in a rate rise at the Fed's next policy meeting on June 12-13. However, Wall Street is divided over how many more time the central bank will raise interest rates after that.
2. Home Depot Reports Earnings
As earnings season draws to a close, Home Depot (NYSE:HD) is one of the last notable names slated to report fiscal first-quarter results before U.S. markets open on Tuesday.
The home improvement retailer is expected to report earnings of $2.06 per share on revenue of $25.2 billion, according to estimates.
Investors will likely be particularly interested to hear how poor winter weather across much of the U.S. in the first three months of the year affected same store sales, which are expected to post a 5.7% increase.
Shares were trading little changed in premarket.
Home Depot kicks off a busy week of retail earnings; results from Macy's (NYSE:M) are on the agenda for Wednesday; while Walmart (NYSE:WMT), the world’s largest retailer, is due to report results on Thursday.
3. Dow's 8-Session Win Streak In Jeopardy As Futures Dip
U.S. stock futures edged lower, indicating the Dow could struggle to stretch its eight-session winning streak into another day.
The blue-chip Dow futures shed 45 points, or about 0.2%, the S&P 500 futures declined 5 points, or nearly 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a drop of 15 points, or roughly 0.2%.
U.S. stocks ended higher on Monday, with the Dow marking its eighth-straight advance – its longest winning streak since a nine-session climb in September.
Elsewhere, in Europe, the continent's major bourses were mixed, with most sectors pointing in opposite directions.
Earlier, in Asia, markets in the region closed lower, as investors turned cautious after soft Chinese economic data.
4. Oil Continues Higher Ahead Of API Data
Oil prices remained on the front foot, with Brent prices extending gains to hit another 2014 high, as looming U.S. sanctions against Iran continued to provide support.
Investors now turned their attention to fresh data on U.S. commercial crude inventories to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly report at 4:30PM ET (2030GMT), amid forecasts for an oil-stock drop of around 1.4 million barrels.
New York-traded WTI crude futures tacked on 18 cents to $71.14 per barrel, while Brent futures rose 50 cents to $78.73 per barrel.
5. Second Round Of U.S.-China Trade Meetings Kick Off
Four days of tense U.S.-China trade talks between U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are due to kick off today in Washington.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer are among the U.S. officials also participating in the meetings.
The talks are taking place after President Donald Trump offered a lifeline to struggling Chinese telecom giant ZTE (HK:0763), with the move seen by some analysts as a concession from the U.S. side.
High-level discussions in Beijing earlier this month appeared to make little progress but there have been signs recently of some easing in tensions.
The Trump administration has drawn a hard line in trade talks with China, demanding a $200 billion cut in the Chinese trade surplus with the United States, sharply lower tariffs and advanced technology subsidies.