FedEx Earnings, Manufacturing, Services PMI: 3 Things to Watch

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- Stocks wobbled on Thursday as investors tried to soak in the Federal Reserve's forecasts for the direction of interest rates.

The Fed sees the benchmark rate moving above 4.5% next year and staying higher for longer than investors thought. It is aiming to tame inflation, also forecasting a rise in unemployment next year, something that is stoking recession fears.

Big companies such as FedEx have forecasted costs to rise as business slows down. Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT), the biggest U.S. retailer, isn't going to hire as many seasonal workers this year compared with last year, when it was scrambling to find enough workers.

As earnings season winds down, next week brings another slate of housing data, including the home price index and data on mortgage rates and demand. Consumer confidence numbers, another print of GDP for the second quarter and the Fed's favorite inflation measure, the PCE, are also due out.

Here are three things that could affect markets tomorrow:

1. FedEx earnings

FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) released its quarterly report a few hours earlier than expected on Thursday, and its shares rose 1.6% in late trading. Profit beat expectations, but revenue slightly missed. The shipping giant is raising prices 6.9% as it faces a global volume slowdown and rising costs.

2. Manufacturing index

At 9:45 ET (13:45 GMT), the ISM manufacturing purchasing manager's index for September is expected to show a reading of 51.1, down just slightly from the prior reading.

3. Services index

Also at the same time, the ISM services purchasing manager's index is expected to show a reading of 45 for September, up slightly from 43.7 last month.