Credit: Shutterstock photoToday's calendar includes weekly jobless claims and some noteworthy earnings reports.
The Labor Department releases the unemployment numbers at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists are estimating that 330,000 Americans sought unemployment benefits for the first time last week, up from 315,000 in the previous period. A lower reading would reflect a stronger economy because it would suggest that fewer people had lost their jobs.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's regional activity index for March follows at 10 a.m. ET and is expected to show an increase to 2 from -6.3 one month earlier. Existing home sales come out at the same time but are less important because they cover the now-distant month of February. Economists are projecting an annualized reading of 4.6 million, down from 4.62 million in January.
Weekly natural-gas inventories are the last economic report at 10:30 a.m. ET
Homebuilder Lennar and food company ConAgra announce quarterly results before the opening bell, while Nike and Tibco Software follow in the afternoon.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
