Jobless claims, earnings, Fedspeak: What to watch
As Yahoo Finance looks ahead to Thursday, investors will have plenty of important economic data, earnings results and Fed speeches to digest.
On the data front, we'll get critical housing numbers including housing starts and building permits for December that will provide a fresh look at where the housing sector stands. Additionally, new jobless claims figures will be released, helping track the ongoing health of the key labor market.
Turning to earnings, regional banks such as Truist (TFC) and M&T Bank (MTB) are among the companies slated to report quarterly results.
Finally, remarks from Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic will garner close attention from market participants listening for any insights he provides around potential policy moves and the debate on rate cuts.
Yahoo Finance's Madison Mills and Josh Lipton break down the details.
For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
Editor's note: This article was written by Angel Smith
Video Transcript
JOSH LIPTON: Time now for what to watch Thursday, January 18, starting on housing. Housing starts and building permit numbers coming out in the morning. Housing starts expecting to fall while economists forecasting a slight increase for building permits. This coming on the heels of strong builder sentiment today.
Mortgage data also coming out in the afternoon. Rates have risen the last two weeks.
MADISON MILLS: And turning over to jobs, new numbers on initial jobless claims. That's the government's report on the number of workers applying for unemployment benefits for the first time following job loss. That'll come out tomorrow morning. We're expecting to see an increase in claims from the previous week.
JOSH LIPTON: On the earnings front, we'll get more regional banks reporting throughout the day, including M&T Bank and Truist Financial among others. We're also keeping an eye on Birkenstock, as it's reporting for the first time since going public last October.
MADISON MILLS: And back over to the Fed, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic speaking twice tomorrow. Investors obviously keeping a close eye on the Fed's comments as those March rate cuts and potentially June rate cuts still up in the air here.
