US jobless claims for the August 12 week are expected to come in at 240,000 following a 21,000 jump to 248,000 in the prior week that unexpectedly pointed to easing demand for labor.

The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index is forecast at minus 10.0 in August, up slightly from minus 13.5 in July, when it was in contraction for the 11th straight month.

The index of leading economic indicators in July is expected to post a 16th straight decline, down a consensus 0.4 percent, after falling 0.7 percent in June. This index has been in very deep decline and has long been signaling a pending recession.

Consumer inflation in Japan is forecast to be steady at 3.3 percent in July in the total CPI and ease to 3.1 percent in the core measure (excluding fresh food prices) from June's 3.3 percent after markups by power companies led to a smaller drop in overall energy costs in June and processed food prices remained over 9 percent above year-earlier levels. Underlying inflation measured by the core-core CPI (excluding fresh food and energy) is expected to pick up again to a 42-year high of 4.4 percent after easing to 4.2 percent in June from 4.3 percent in May, indicating that the effects of widespread retail price hikes are lingering. The year-over-year decline in corporate import costs that began in April is likely to affect consumer prices with a six-month delay.

Market Focus details key factors in the coming day that will impact the economic outlook and the financial markets. These include central bank events, economic indicators, policymaker speeches as well as expected political and corporate developments.

Keeping up-to-date with event schedules and the economic calendar is key to understanding the global financial system. Econoday's Market Focus allows investors and policymakers to carefully track what will be making news and moving the financial markets in the coming day.