Friday completes a busy week and the market will not have much news to digest. There are no major earnings announcements scheduled for the day.
Here's what you need to know.
- Japan starts the day off early with a reading of its unemployment rate at 6:30 p.m. EST on Thursday evening. Economists predict the jobless rate will decline by 10 basis points to 4.5 percent in January.
- At 7:00 p.m. EST, South Korean manufacturing PMI will be released. The index last stood at 49.2. There are currently no available estimates for the announcement.
- Announcements go quiet until German retail sales are announced at 2:00 a.m. EST on Friday morning. Economists predict January sales jumped 0.5 percent from December.
- Finland will announce fourth quarter gross domestic product at 3:00 a.m. EST. Economists predict the nation barely missed contracting in the fourth quarter of 2011, with a 0.1 percent expansion.
- At the same time, Spain will release the number of citizens who are unemployed. Economists see 80,000 more Spaniards identifying as unemployed in February.
- British construction PMI follows at 4:30 a.m. EST with expectations for continued but slower expansion in February. The index is forecast to drop 0.1 points to 51.3.
- Eurozone producer prices are set for release at 5:00 a.m. EST. Consensus estimates call for an increase of 0.5 percent in January, reversing December's 0.2 percent decline.
- Italy will announce its deficit-to-GDP at 5:00 a.m. EST as well, with expectations currently for a 60 basis point decline to 4.0 percent in 2011 from 2010.
- Canadian GDP will be announced at 8:30 a.m EST. Analysts expect the country's economy expanded by 0.3 percent in December.
- The only U.S. announcement scheduled for the day is ISM New York at 9:45 a.m. EST. The reading last increased to 60.1 in January from 51.7 a month earlier. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
There are no major earnings announcements scheduled for Friday.
Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
See Also:
- Here Are The Key Market Moving Events For Friday, February 24, 2012
- Here Are The Key Market Moving Events For Thursday, February 23, 2012
- Here Are The Key Market Moving Events For Wednesday, February 22, 2012