Premarket: 6 things to know before the bell

1. Fox-Sky deal: The U.K. government will issue a decision Thursday on 21st Century Fox’s (FOXA) bid to buy the rest of pay-TV group Sky (SKYAY).

The £11.7 billion ($ 15.2 billion) deal would add a crown jewel to Rupert Mudoch’s media empire. Fox already holds a 39% stake in Sky.
The government has to consider whether the deal is in the public interest.

2. Banks get green light on dividends: All 34 of America’s biggest banks were granted permission by the Federal Reserve to buy back stock or pay dividend on Wednesday, according to the results of the Fed’s annual stress tests.

It was the first time in seven years that the Fed gave the green light to pay dividends to all the banks it scrutinized.

Shares in many major banks climbed up in extended trading following the announcement. Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), Wells Fargo (WFC), Morgan Stanley (MS) and Goldman Sachs (GS) were all up in extended trading.

3. U.S. economy check: The final estimate of first quarter GDP growth will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

The U.S. economy got off to a slow start in the first three months of the year, though it was not as weak as originally feared. The initial growth estimate of 0.7% was later revised to 1.2%. The numbers could be upped again on Thursday.

4. Global market overview: U.S. stock futures were mixed on Thursday.

European markets opened mixed and markets in Asia closed with gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.7% on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 was up 0.8% and the Nasdaq increased 1.4%.

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5. Earnings and economics: ConAgra (CAG), Rite Aid (RAD) and Walgreens Boost Alliance (WBA) are set to release earnings before the open Thursday.

Nike(NKE) is set to release earnings after the close. The sneaker giant might confirm recent reports that it will soon begin selling some products on Amazon (AMZN, Tech30).

The U.S. Department of Labor plans to release its initial claims report for June 24 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

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6. Coming this week:

Thursday — U.K. ruling on Fox-Sky deal; Nike (NKE) earnings; U.S. GDP report
Friday — Personal income and spending data; the University of Michigan consumer confidence survey, China official manufacturing PMI