Premarket: 7 things to know before the bell
1. Markets soar: U.S. markets had the best day since mid-September on Tuesday.
Investors were upbeat about the progress in the Senate on tax cuts, and a strong performance by Federal Reserve nominee Jerome Powell in his confirmation hearing.
The Dow Jones industrial average soared 1.1% on Tuesday, reaching a new record. The S&P 500 added 1% and the Nasdaq gained 0.5%.
2. The pound’s wild ride: The pound surged to its highest level against the dollar in two months on reports that Britain and the EU are poised to agree a divorce bill.
Kit Juckes, a strategist at Societe Generale, described the reports as “‘good news but not game-changing.”
Next week will be key: Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to ask the EU to certify that “sufficient progress” has been made on the financial settlement, citizens’ rights and the Irish border.
Only then can the two sides start negotiating their future trading relationship.
“Agreeing a way forward on the border between the Irish Republic and the U.K. is a bigger challenge at this point, and still stands in the way of moving on to the next stage of negotiations,” said Juckes.
3. Bitcoin hits $ 10,000: Bitcoin (XBT) powered past $ 10,000 for the first time on Wednesday. The virtual currency has seen a jaw-dropping rally of more than 900% since the start of the year.
Experts say that the gains in recent weeks have been driven by the expectation that more major investors — like hedge funds and asset managers — are gearing up to start investing in the digital currency.
However, some analysts are warning the rally is showing signs of a bubble.
4. Tiffany & Co. reports: Tiffany (TIF) will release its third quarter earnings on Wednesday.
The jeweler got a new CEO earlier this year, and has tried to lure shoppers with a new luxury home collection and its first in-store cafe.
Investors are waiting to hear whether those efforts have started to bring young people into stores. The stock is up over 20% since the start of 2017.
5. Global market overview: U.S. stock futures were flat.
European markets opened mostly higher, while markets in Asia ending the trading session mixed.
U.S. crude futures slipped 0.5% ahead of a crucial OPEC meeting on Thursday.
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6. Companies and economics: Royal Bank of Canada (RY) will release its earnings report before the open, while Jack In The Box (JACK) and La-Z-Boy (LZB) are set to report after the close.
Shares in the London Stock Exchange Group dropped 2% after it announced that CEO Xavier Rolet has agreed to step down after a power struggle at the top of the company.
A second estimate of third quarter U.S. GDP will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The weekly U.S. crude inventories report will follow at 10:30 a.m.
Outgoing Fed chair Janet Yellen will answer questions about the economic outlook at the U.S. Joint Economic Committee at 10 a.m.
German inflation data will be published at 10 a.m.
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7. Coming this week:
Wednesday — Tiffany earnings; Yellen testimony on the economy
Thursday — Kroger earnings; OPEC meeting
