Yahoo Finance Coca-Cola, Jobless Claims, Fed Speeches: 3 Things to Watch
By Liz Moyer
Investing.com -- Stocks struggled for direction on Wednesday as lawmakers waffled over stimulus negotiations and virus cases continued to spike.
The economy expanded at a "slight to modest" pace though employment trends were sluggish across the U.S. as companies face rising Covid-related costs, the Federal Reserve said in a periodic survey.
The Beige Book economic report, based on observations by the Fed’s 12 reserve banks, noted most districts continued to see an increase in economic activity, with the "pace of growth characterized as slight to modest," while employment "growth remained slow." Inflation remained in check even though food and car prices increased.
More earnings are on deck, including airlines, and unemployment claims should show whether the recovery continues despite a new wave of virus cases that is swamping hospitals across the country.
Here are three things that could affect the markets tomorrow:
1. Earnings reports due out from Coca-Cola, American Airlines and others.
Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) is expected to report earnings per share of 46 cents on revenue of $8.36 billion, as the beverage giant makes recent moves to streamline its brand offerings.
American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) is seen reporting a loss of $5.88 a share on revenue of $2.76 billion, while Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE:LUV) is seen reporting a loss of $2.35 a share on revenue of $1.7 billion.
2. Unemployment trend puts spotlight on recovery
Weekly unemployment claims are due out at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT). Initial jobless claims are expected to be 860,000 last week compared to 898,000 the prior week, according to analysts tracked by Investing.com. The number of initial claims has hovered around the upper 800,000 range for several weeks since August, suggesting companies continue to struggle with reopening.
Continuing claims are expected to be 9.5 million for the week, an improvement from more than 10 million the prior week.
3. Fed officials take to the speech circuit
A couple of Federal Reserve officials are scheduled to appear on the speech circuit. Dallas Fed chief Robert Kaplan will speak around 1:00 PM ET (1700 GMT) while the Richmond Fed's Thomas Barkin has a speech at 6:00 PM ET (2200 GMT). Fed officials in recent weeks have talked about the need for additional stimulus to see the economy through a recovery from Covid interruptions. But lawmakers on Capitol Hill are still in a stalemate, with hopes fading for an agreement before the election.
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