Day Ahead: Top 3 Things to Watch

JOLTs Numbers Expected to Rise

The main economic data tomorrow will be the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTs) numbers for November.

The report will be released at 10 AM ET (15:00 GMT).

Economists forecast that job openings rose to 7.17 million.

But the numbers are from two months ago, so may not have a large impact on the markets, especially coming after last week’s very strong gain in December nonfarm payrolls reported Friday.

Helen of Troy Reports Earnings

Beauty products maker Helen of Troy (NASDAQ:HELE) will release its latest quarterly numbers before the bell tomorrow.

On average, analysts predict that the company earned $2.36 per share on sales of nearly $425 million.

The stock bucked the trend of the overall market at the end of last year and is up over the last three months.

The company beat estimates and raised guidance in its last quarterly report.

Will Oil’s Rally Continue?

Oil prices have enjoyed a rally in the new year and tomorrow will bring some more data for traders to consider.

The API’s weekly crude stockpiles report will come out at 4:30 PM ET (21:30 GMT).

Stockpiles came in at 6.92 million in the previous week.

Today, U.S.-Sino trade talks, speculation over Saudi output cuts and data suggesting lower Cushing stockpiles helped oil add to 2019 gains, though the settlement off the highs also showed bulls were being cautious of overextending themselves.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude settled up 56 cents, or 1.2%, at $48.52 per barrel, after reaching a high of $49.79.