Micron Reports, Didi Flops, Jobless Claims: 3 Things to Watch By Investing.com

By Dhirendra Tripathi

Investing.com — Stocks marked a strong first half to the year, fueled by economically sensitive stocks and a flurry of initial public offerings driving investor enthusiasm.

Wednesday’s ADP payroll report showed employers added 692,000 jobs in June. The bullish report bodes well for Friday’s jobs report from the government. Economists forecast the U.S. economy created about 600,000 jobs in June.

Cyclical stocks, which move in tandem with the economy, were higher, led by energy stocks. Oil prices are rising ahead of Thursday’s meeting of OPEC and an inventory report for last week that showed crude stocks continued to decline.

The S&P 500 has notched steady gains throughout the first half of this year — and closed at another record high on Wednesday — despite rising fear about inflation as the economy reopens and concerns the Federal Reserve might have to slam the brakes.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. Chip results

Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU)reports after tonight’s closing bell. Analysts tracked by Investing.com expected it to report earnings per share of $1.70 for the third quarter on revenue of $7.2 billion. The shares rose earlier after BMO upgraded the stock to outperform on the expectation that the current situation of demand exceeding supply could last longer and will benefit the memory chipmaker.

2. Didi jumps in debut

Shares of the ride-hailing company Didi Global Inc ADR (NYSE:DIDI) debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday at $16.65, almost 19% higher than their issue price of $14. The company’s market cap was hovering around $77 billion on the first day. Rival Uber (NYSE:UBER) has a market cap of $95 billion. But in late trading Didi had given up most of its initial pop, and it closed its first day of trading up just 1%.

3. More data on employment

First-time filings for unemployment insurance for the week ended June 26 are seen falling to 390,000 from 411,000 in the previous period. The Labor Department will release jobless claims numbers Thursday at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT).

Continuing claims are seen falling to 3.382 million from 3.39 million. That number runs a week behind the headline claims total.