Yahoo Finance Day Ahead: Top 3 Things to Watch
1. Banks Lead the Earnings Parade Again
Banks will get the most attention again when companies report earnings before the bell Wednesday.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is expected to post a profit of $1.11 per share for the most recent quarter or revenue of a little more than $10 billion. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) beat profit expectations on Tuesday, but shares were weaker on disappointing trading revenue.
US Bancorp (NYSE:USB) and M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) will also release results.
The pharma sector will also be in focus. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and Novartis (NYSE:NVS) are both scheduled to report earnings.
Bernstein initiated coverage on Abbott Labs late last month with an outperform rating, predicting that strong product launches would spur growth.
2. Housing Starts Expected to Post Small Decline
On the economic calendar, investors will get a glimpse on how the housing sector is performing.
Housing starts for June are expected to have dropped slightly to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million. Building permits are forecast to post a gain to 1.33 million.
The iShares Real Estate 50 (NYSE:USRT) is slightly lower, year to date.
There will also be the weekly data on oil inventories. The Energy Information Administration is expected to report that crude stockpiles fell 3.622 for the week ended July 13.
And Federal Reserve Chairman wraps up his two-day appearance before Congress when he testifies at the House Financial Services Committee.
3. United Tops Expectations
Airline stocks could be active Wednesday following a solid earnings report from United Continental (NYSE:UAL).
The company reported second-quarter results that beat on the top and bottom lines.
Like Delta recently, the company was able to top expectations despite a significant rise in fuel costs for the quarter.
United said its fuel expenses for the quarter rose to about $2.4 billion from about $1.7 billion in the year-ago period.
United stock was up about 3.3% in after-hours trading shortly after it reported earnings.
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