Investing.com -- Here's a preview of the top three things that could rock markets tomorrow.
1. Jerome Powell Testimony in Focus
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivers remarks on U.S. economic outlook before the Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday at 11:00 AM ET (16:00 GMT).
The Fed’s chairman’s speech comes just two weeks after the U.S. central bank cut its key rate for a third time this year. And the Fed signaled it would hold rates steady for the remainder of the year.
Powell told reporters at his post-meeting news conference on Oct. 30 that the current stance of monetary policy was “likely to remain appropriate,” as long as there was no material change in the central bank’s outlook on the economy.
Fresh guidance on monetary policy, however, may likely be limited as Powell is “unlikely to have materially altered his thinking since the statement and press conference,” Nomura said in note to clients.
Ahead of Powell’s testimony, President Donald Trump again criticized the Fed. At his appearance before the New York Economic Club, the president charged the central bank's previous round of rate hikes had put the economy at a disadvantage and that he longed for negative interest rates.
Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool forecasts almost no chance of a change in the Fed's federal funds rate, now at 1.5% to 1.75%, at its December meeting and no real chance or a rate cut before next spring.
2. Inflation Data Due
Ahead of Powell’s speech, market participants will look ahead to the release of consumer inflation data due at 8:30 AM ET (13:30 GMT).
Economists forecast overall inflation measured by the consumer price index in October climbed 0.3% from 0.1% in September, while the core CPI , which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2% from 0.1% a month earlier.
Year-over-year CPI growth is seen staying at 1.7% with core CPI edging up to 2.4%.
3. Cisco) Earnings in Focus
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) reports fiscal first-quarter results after the closing bell Wednesday against a challenging backdrop that includes concerns that weakness in the global economy and softening cloud demand may weigh on performance.
Cisco said it expected the fiscal first quarter would represent the slowest rate of revenue and earnings per share growth since late 2017.
Sentiment ahead of Cisco’s earnings has soured somewhat after the company’s rival Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) warned about softening cloud demand.
For its fiscal first quarter, ended Oct. 31, Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) has guided revenue growth in the range of 0% to 2%, with earnings in a range of 80 to 82 cents.
Cisco is expected to report earnings of 81 cents per share on revenue of $13.07 billion, according to consensus estimates from Investing.com. A year ago, the Dow component reported 76 cents a share in earnings on revenue of $13.07 billion.
Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) shares were up 0.6% on Tuesday and are up 11.6% on the year, 17th among the 30 Dow stocks.