Retail sales, bank earnings, UnitedHeath report: 3 things to watch

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- Stocks came on strong on Thursday after mixed economic data that soothed concerns about the Federal Reserve's interest rate increases.

Friday's mood might change, however, depending on what bankers say about the economic outlook, consumer credit quality, and business activity. Big banks kick off first-quarter earnings season early in the day with reports from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo .

The banking system has been under stress from rising interest rates, which have pinched the value of bond holdings. Rising rates have also quieted the deal markets and lessened demand for mortgages and other credit products.

Fed officials have to weigh a potential slowdown in lending activity with their own actions on rates to date to judge how much further they need to act to get inflation down. The terminal rate was forecast to reach 5.1% this year, which implies at least one more rate hike of a quarter of a percentage point. Some futures traders see the Fed pausing at its next meeting, while most expect the rate increase to come then.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. Retail Sales

Retail sales for March are expected out at 8:30 ET (12:30 GMT). Analysts expect a year-over-year gain of 5.9% versus the 5.39% in the previous month, and a monthly contraction of 0.4%, same as before.

2. Bank earnings

JPMorgan Chase&Co (NYSE:JPM) is expected to report earnings per share of $3.41 on revenue of $36.1 billion. Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) is expected to report earnings per share of $1.70 on earnings of $20.05B. Wells Fargo&Company (NYSE:WFC) is expected to report earnings per share of $1.12 on revenue of $20.1B.

3. UnitedHealth earnings

The big insurer UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) is expected to report earnings per share of $6.17 on revenue of $89.7B.