Investing.com – Here’s a preview of the top-three things that could rock markets tomorrow.
1 It's Jobs Friday!
The U.S. economy is anticipated to have produced slightly fewer jobs in August from the previous month.
The Labor Department will release its latest jobs figures at 8:30 AM ET (12:30 GMT).
Economists expect that nonfarm payrolls rose by 160,000 last month, according to forecasts compiled by Investing.com. That would be down from the 164,000 rise seen in July.
The unemployment rate is forecast to remain steady 3.7%.
The weaker backdrop in U.S. manufacturing and retail, bankruptcies in the shale industry and falling demand for long-haul truck drivers are expected to keep a lid on job growth, said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton.
Wages are expected to rise 0.3% in August, the same as July, but to fall slightly to 3.1% year on year.
“The good news is that much of the acceleration in wages we are now seeing is occurring among the lowest paid workers, which shows up almost immediately as consumer spending,” Swonk added.
2. Oil Rig Count Rolls In
Traders will look to the latest rig-count data due Friday for clues on crude production activity as U.S. production remained close to record levels at 12.4 million barrels a day last week.
Data last week showed the number of oil rigs operating in the U.S. fell by 12 to 742.
The weekly rig count is an important barometer for the drilling industry and serves as a proxy for oil production and oil services demand.
Oil prices, on track for a second-straight weekly win, have been buoyed by easing U.S.-China trade tensions and ongoing signs of tightening domestic supplies after data showed U.S. inventories declined by more than expected last week.
3. Powell & Co. Take to the Stage
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell will speak on Friday in Switzerland. Powell will be accompanied by other panel speakers including, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman and four regional presidents: Boston Fed's Eric Rosengren, New York Fed's John Williams, Minnesota Fed's Neel Kashkari and Chicago Fed's Charles Evans.
With expectations running high the Fed is set to cut rates in just under two weeks, Powell's speech will likely be parsed for clues on whether the central bank is leaning more dovish in the run-up to the Fed meeting on Sept. 17-18.
According to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool, there's a 94.5% chance the Fed cuts rates by a quarter point later this month.