Day Ahead: Top 3 Things to Watch for March 5

By Kim Khan

Investing.com – Investors will naturally be watching reports of the number of new Covid-19 cases across the globe Thursday, as well as government and private sector moves to contain the virus and signs of direct impact on companies like .

Beyond that there will be more economic data, which helped the U.S. dollar gain a little traction today and the Treasury yield to reclaim territory above 1%.

The oil market is still waiting for a move from OPEC and earnings reports are still coming.

Here are three things that could move the market tomorrow.

1. Jobless Claims, Factory Orders Due

There’s more data on the employment front tomorrow, ahead of Friday’s payrolls report.

Weekly initial jobless claims arrive at 8:30 AM ET (13:30 GMT).

for first-time unemployment benefits are expected to dip to 215,000 from the week before, according to economists’ forecasts compiled by Investing.com.

At 10:00 AM ET the Commerce Department will issue its latest report on factory orders.

Economists expect that the value of new purchase placed with manufacturers fell 0.1% in January.

2. OPEC Meeting Begins

OPEC starts its official two-day meeting in Vienna tomorrow, although the market has been swinging on headlines from the cartel this whole week.

Saudi Arabia is trying to convince Russia to sign off on more output cuts, but Russia has been playing it coy so far. A technical panel recommended cutting output by as much as 1 million bpd in the second quarter.

Adding to a prior deal in December, OPEC+ would be removing a total of 3.1 million bpd, or 3.1% of global supply,

Oil prices reacted negatively today to a report that Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak had returned to Russia.

But a deal definitely hasn’t been ruled out, Investing.com’s Barani Krishan said.

3. Kroger Reports After Buffett Endorsement

On the earnings calendar investors will get a chance to see how a new Buffett bet is faring.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:) revealed in a regulatory filing last month that it had initiated a new position in Kroger (NYSE:). Berkshire said it owns about 18.94 million shares in the supermarket chain.

Kroger (NYSE:) will report quarterly results before the bell tomorrow.

Analysts are looking for a of 55 cents per share on sales of about $28.8 billion.

Shares are up about 8% year to date.

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