Investing.com – Here’s a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow
1. Housing, Labor Market, Sentiment Data to Help Dollar Notch Third-Weekly Win?
Building permits, housing starts, labor market data and a raft of University of Michigan data due Friday will round off the week of US economic data as investors slowly turn attention to the Federal reserve meeting next week.
The Commerce Department is expected report building permits fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.320 million units, while housing starts are expected to show decline of 6% to 1.290 million units.
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, is expected to show consumer confidence in the economy remained steady, as economist forecast the index to show a reading of 99.3 for March compared to 99.7 in the previous month.
The index serves a barometer of consumer confidence in the economy; a rising sentiment index points to signs of an uptick in increased consumer spending and thus economic growth.
Michigan’s consumer expectations are expected to show a reading of 89.8 for March, while current conditions are forecast to show a reading of 114.5 in March from 114.9 in the previous month.
The U.S. Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTs) report, is expected to show job openings in January rose to about 8.89 million adding to the narrative of strong U.S. labor market
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose by 0.43% to 90.14
2. All Time Highs Coming ‘Soon’ To U.S. Markets
JPMorgan’s Markos Kolanovic bullish claim that “markets are likely to reach all-time highs soon,” added to positive sentiment on US stocks late Thursday.
Kolanovic said market have rebounded from a the deluge of negative headwinds - inflation, stagflation, large deficits – while insisting the risk of a potential trade war with China, is “very low.”
“We argue below that this risk is also very low, and if we take the 2015 turmoil as a template for flows from systematic and fundamental investors, markets are likely to reach all-time highs soon,” Kolanovic said.
Supporting Kolanovic’s view that fears over a global trade war are somewhat overdone, white House National Trade Council, Peter Navarro said Thursday the U.S. can Institute tariffs without causing a global trade war.
The Dow Jones notched more than 100 points to close at 24,873.66.
3. Baker Hughes Rig Count In Focus
The weekly instalment of drilling activity from Baker Hughes on Friday, will provide investors with fresh insight into U.S. oil production and demand after data last week showed the number of oil rigs operating in the US fell for the first time in seven 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.
Also likely to be in focus was a report late Thursday raising the prospect of oil supply disruptions in the Middle East after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly told his security cabinet he expects that President Trump will most likely withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal in May.
If Trump does scrap the deal, the prospect of a tick higher in supplies would increase as it could lead to re-imposition of secondary sanctions on Iran, pressuring countries to reduce their purchases of Iranian crude.
Crude futures settled higher on Thursday after the International Energy Agency warned that further declines in Venezuelan crude supply “could be the final element that tips the market decisively into deficit.”