Premarket: 7 things to know before the bell
1. Spotlight on Facebook: Facebook (FB, Tech30) will hold its first-ever “community summit” on Thursday and Friday in Chicago.
The social network has described the event as a way to celebrate the “community builders” who administer Facebook groups.
Laurie Segall of CNN Tech has an interview with CEO Mark Zuckerberg about his vision for building online communities.
2. Bank stress: The U.S. Federal Reserve will release the results of its Dodd-Frank stress tests at 4:30 p.m. ET on Thursday.
The tests are used to determine whether big banks have enough capital to withstand a crisis.
Regulators are sizing up 34 institutions, including Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and Citigroup (C).
The Fed won’t tell banks until next week if they’re in a position to buy back stock or pay dividends to shareholders this year.
3. Commodities under pressure: Commodities have largely missed out on the rallies enjoyed by stocks and bonds this year.
Crude oil entered a bear market earlier this week on worries over a global supply glut. Prices dipped further on Thursday to their lowest level in about 10 months.
Other commodities including cocoa, sugar, corn and wheat have also been lackluster.
Simona Gambarini of Capital Economics said weak growth in China is one reason for the slowdown.
“Other factors have also been at play,” Gambarini added. “In particular, fading hopes that President Trump will boost U.S. infrastructure spending and oversupply in many markets have contributed to the falls in metals prices.”
4. Global market overview: U.S. stock futures were down early Thursday.
European markets opened lower, while markets in Asia ended the session mixed.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed 0.3% down on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 lost 0.1%. The Nasdaq gained 0.7%.
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5. Stock market movers — Oracle, Staples, Imagination: Oracle (ORCL, Tech30) was up in extended trading after it revealed an upbeat forecast.
Shares in Staples (SPLS) also gained in extended trading after Reuters reported that private equity firm Sycamore Partners was nearing a deal to buy the company.
British tech firm Imagination Technologies (IGNMF) surged 16% early on Thursday after putting itself up for sale. The company was dropped as a supplier by Apple (AAPL, Tech30) earlier this year, leading to a massive drop in its share price.
6. Earnings and economics: Barnes & Noble (BKS) is expected to suffer its fourth loss in the past five quarters when it reports earnings before the opening bell.
Carnival(CCL) and Accenture (ACN) will also publish results ahead of the open.
Bed Bath & Beyond(BBBY) will follow after the close. Its stock has plunged 17% this year.
Drug maker Mylan (MYL) will hold its annual shareholder meeting on Thursday. Look to see if investors rebel against the company’s board of directors over the EpiPen scandal and a $ 98 million payout to Chairman Robert Coury.
The Department of Labor will release its Initial Claims report at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The Bank of Mexico will announce an interest rate decision at 2 p.m. ET.
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7. Coming this week:
Thursday — Barnes and Noble (BKS), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), Accenture (ACN) earnings; Initial jobless claims report; EU consumer confidence data; Central Bank of Mexico rate decision; EU leaders summit; Facebook community event
Friday — BlackBerry (BBRY, Tech30) earnings; EU summit
