Dagens AGenda 8/12

 Retail, credit data may move markets


The Consumer Credit report yesterday afternoon may well be a positive for the markets today. A much smaller-than-expected contraction came in at -$3.5 billion versus expectations of -$9.5 billion.

The only two major reports for today are retail data.

The ICSC-Goldman Store Sales report will be released at 13.45. There are two components to the report, the week-over-week and the year-over-year changes. Most traders focus on the year-over-year numbers, which make for clearer comparisons.

The last week-over-week change came in at -0.1 percent, while the year-over-year registered a gain of 3.1 percent. Positive numbers would be seen as bullish while drops, reported as negative numbers, would be bearish.

Redbook Store Sales will be reported at 14.55. There are two components to the report, the month-over-month and the year-over-year numbers. As with the ICSC report, most traders focus on the year-over-year data for clearer comparisons.

The last month-over-month change showed a gain of 5.2 percent and the year-over-year registered 3.8 percent. Negative readings would be bearish while positive numbers, especially in the year-over-year number, would be seen as bullish.

A report that could effect currency trading is the Bank of Canada announcement on interest rates at 15.00. The expectation is for no action, with rates remaining at 0.25 percent. In the event of a surprise hike, we might actually see a jump in the Canadian dollar, which might be slightly bearish for the U.S. dollar.