Investing.com - Here’s a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow
1. GDP, Fed Speak, Jobless Claims on Tap
A slew of U.S. economic data is slated for Thursday including a crucial update on the pace of U.S. economic growth.
The final reading of first-quarter U.S. GDP at 08:30am ET is expected to show the economy expanded 2.2%, in-line with the previous reading seen last month. While the GDP price index is forecast to show an increase of 1.9% for the quarter.
The Labor Department releases its weekly count of the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance due 08:30 am ET for the week ended June 22, expected to show jobless claims rose to 220,000 from 218,000 the prior week.
Speeches by Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank President, and Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kapan slated for 10:45 a.m. ET and Raphael Bostic, at 12:00 p.m. ET, respectively, may offer insight into the Fed's thinking on monetary policy.
Traders will likely watch US equities closely after an intraday reversal saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average give up more than 285 points to end the session in negative. US stocks had rallied intraday after the White House softened its stance on restricting foreign investment.
The dollar rose sharply Wednesday against its rivals supported by a slump in both GBP/USD and EUR/USD.
2. Natural Gas Inventories, Oil Price Rally in Focus
Natural gas prices climbed more than 1.81% on Wednesday – a day ahead of a report on inventories – amid expectations that a warmer U.S. summer could raise demand for air-conditioning, slashing natural gas supplies.
The Energy Information Agency’s weekly natural gas storage report is expected show gas storage rose by 71 billion cubic feet last week, adding to the build seen in the prior week.
In oil markets, meanwhile, the rally in crude oil prices will be closely watched as concerns over a possible global supply shortage continue to mount amid unexpected outages and the prospect of lower crude exports from Iran.
Crude futures settled at their highest price since November 2014 at $77.22 a barrel, up 3.2%.
3. Nike: Just Buy It?
Sportswear apparel giant Nike is slated to report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings Thursday after the closing bell, and investors will be closely monitoring the sportswear giant's performance in its core U.S. market.
Analysts expect Nike to report earnings of 64 cents a share on revenue of $9.41 billion.
Nike's shares had rallied sharply in the run up to the earnings report but have since pared gains over the past two weeks. This comes despite expectations that the sportswear giant has managed to plug the leak in sales on its home turf.
In the most recent quarterly report, Nike reported that sales dropped 6% in North American – which makes up roughly 40% of total revenue.
In a bid to combat falling market share in North America, Nike has reined in merchandise and ramped up innovation, raising investor expectations that the sportswear giant could return to U.S. market growth sooner rather than later.
"Nike's multiple accelerates as sales momentum builds and gross margin rates are expanding, which in our view are key factors in the fiscal-year 2019," Wedbush said in a recent note.
Shares of Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) closed at $71.37, down 1.64%.