Day Ahead: Top 3 Things to Watch
Investing.com - Here’s a preview of the top 3 things that could rock markets tomorrow
1. Jobless Claims, Philly Fed Data, Fed Jawboning Looms
The Labor Department releases its weekly count of the number of individuals who filed for unemployment insurance for the week ended April 13, expected to show jobless claims fell to 230,000 from 233,000 the prior week. Continuing jobless claims are forecast to fall to 1.848 million from 1.871 million the prior week.
The report on the labor market is due Thursday at 08.30 a.m. ET, a day after the Federal Reserve’s beige book showed that tightness in the labor market has yet to boost wage growth pressure.
Economists forecast the Philly Fed manufacturing index slated for 8.30 a.m. ET for April to show a reading of 20.8, slightly below the 22.3 reading seen in March.
Speeches by FOMC Member Lael Brainard at 8.00 a.m. ET, FOMC Member Randal Quarles at 09.30 a.m. and FOMC Member Loretta Mester at 6.45 p.m ET.
The Fed speeches are likely to be closely monitored after St. Federal Reserve James Bullard counterpart warned that the yield curve could invert– a key predictor of a recession - within six months.
The dollar remained subdued against a basket of major currencies, despite weakness in both sterling and the loonie.
2. Natural Gas Inventories, Crude Oil Rally in Focus
Natural gas prices rose slightly on Wednesday, as weather guidance remained mostly unchanged overnight ahead of a shift to bearish weather in May expected to curb heating demand.
The Energy Information Agency’s weekly natural gas storage report is expected show gas storage fell by 23 billion cubic feet last week.
Traders are also expected to monitor developments in oil markets as crude oil prices settled above $68 for the first time since December 2014 after U.S. crude supplies unexpectely fell.
Crude futures settled at $68.47 a barrel, up 2.95%.
The sharp uptick in crude prices comes as investor attention shifts to the outcome of the joint OPEC and non-OPEC ministerial monitoring committee meeting slated for later this week.
3. Crypto Post-Tax Day Rally to Continue?
With the April 17 U.S. tax filing deadline in the rear-view mirror, market participants remained keen to observe whether cryptocurrencies would fulfil recent predictions of a post-tax day rally.
Analysts said earlier this week that the wave of selling in cryptos to fund taxes – following huge crypto profits in 2017 – would grind to a halt, supporting a rebound in cryptocurrencies.
"Tax-selling has been a significant factor in downward crypto prices over the past few weeks. I would expect this downward pressure to abate after tax day," Spencer Bogart, partner at Blockchain Capital told CNBC on Monday.
Tom Lee, managing partner and the head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, echoed Bogart's comments, predicting that the end of tax-selling pressure would support a rally in bitcoin to $25,000 by the end of 2018.
Trading action across large-cap cryptocurrencies appeared to validate the post-tax day claims as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple XRP and Ethereum rallied.
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