Chantico Global CEO Gina Sanchez is watching for three key events on Wednesday.
1. Cisco earnings
Cisco is expected to report its quarterly earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday, and Sanchez is expecting positive results.
“If you look at where Cisco is used — cybersecurity, networking — these are areas that are set to grow, and in fact demand is going to be even greater going forward,” Sanchez said on CNBC’s “Trading Nation.”
Analysts are forecasting earnings of 58 cents per share, according to FactSet. Most analysts give Cisco a rating of overweight.
In a report Tuesday, Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White wrote: “We continue to believe Cisco’s stock will receive investor support given the company’s rich dividend, attractive valuation, expanding recurring revenue contribution, consistent execution and prime position as a beneficiary of potential revisions in repatriation policies.” He added that “Cisco is heading into its seasonally strongest quarter of the year.”
The stock has risen more than 13 percent year to date.
2. Weekly crude oil inventory report
With WTI crude floundering below $50 a barrel, the Energy Information Administration publishes its weekly supply report Wednesday mid-morning. Sanchez is expecting supplies will continue to drop, which may prove bullish for the commodity. “Oil has been having a rough time going up and down, and supplies have been very, very slow to cut,” she said. “We’ve heard from Saudi Arabia, Russia and now Kuwait that they will extend their OPEC cuts. So this could be good for oil.”
Crude oil rallied Monday after Russia and Saudi Arabia reached an agreement to extend output cuts. The commodity then gave back some of those gains on Tuesday, extending its losses after the American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. crude oil stocks rose last week, while gasoline inventories decreased. OPEC members are set to convene in a meeting next week.
3. Mortgage application data
Sanchez was keeping an eye on the Mortgage Bankers’ Association’s weekly mortgage application report, which said total volume fell 4.1 percent from the previous week.
The report is considered a reliable gauge of housing demand and construction. Ahead of the report, Sanchez said she was expecting a sign that housing was rebounding.
“We saw a big dip in April. However, we’ve seen some signaling that in fact this number’s coming back up. With that we can expect a positive outlook for the housing market,” she said.
The housing starts number reported by the Commerce Department on Tuesday morning showed a 2.6 percent decrease in new home construction in the month of April.
