By Liz Moyer
Investing.com -- Washington's on-again, off-again stimulus talks are whipsawing the markets.
Stocks surged on Wednesday after lawmakers restored hopes that at least some of the stimulus ideas – such as aid for airlines and checks to households – will make progress a day after President Donald Trump took the wind out of stocks by telling Republican negotiators to abandon efforts.
Airline stocks rose strongly on Wednesday, including Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL), American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) and United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:UAL)
Federal Reserve officials hit the speech circuit this week, mostly to hammer home the idea that the economy needs support to recover from the Covid-induced lockdowns.
More Fed speakers are expected on Thursday, alongside new jobs data and earnings from Domino's Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) and Carnival (NYSE:CUK) Corp., a pandemic winner and loser, respectively.
Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:
1. More Fed speakers
Federal Open Market Committee member and Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin is slated to speak at 10:30 AM ET (1430 GMT). Later, at 2:00 PM ET (1800 GMT) Robert Kaplan, head of the Dallas Fed and another FOMC member, will speak.
Both are likely to emphasize the central bank's message of the week: More stimulus is needed to support the economic recovery. On Wednesday the Fed's minutes said the "recovery was forecast to be far from complete by year-end. The staff's forecast assumed the enactment of some additional fiscal policy support this year; without that additional policy action, the pace of the economic recovery would likely be slower."
2. More jobs data
Initial jobless claims are reported at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT), and expectations are for 820,000 new filings. Continuing jobless claims, reported at the same time, are expected to come in around 11.4 million.
Though the claims have come down since the worst of the Covid meltdown, the sustained elevated level of new jobless claims – coming in just under 1 million a week for several weeks, now -- is more evidence that the economic fallout will continue. Major corporations like Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) and American Airlines have already laid off workers, and more are expected to do so going into the end of the year.
3. Earnings reports from pandemic have and a pandemic have-not
People chowed down on delivery and comfort food during the last few months, benefiting companies like Domino’s Pizza Inc (NYSE:DPZ). Analysts tracked by Investing.com expect earnings per share of $2.76 on revenue of $949 million. That would be a 35% gain in EPS from the same period a year ago.
People are not booking vacations on cruises, which have been banned from sailing until the coronavirus can be contained. Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL) is expected to report a loss per share of $2.18 on revenue of $77 million.