Premarket: 6 things to know before the bell
1. Tesla call: Shares in Tesla (TSLA) dropped nearly 5% in extended trading after the automaker reported earnings and held an investor call that went off the rails.
The results showed that Tesla burned through $ 700 million in cash last quarter, but its Model 3 production woes appear to be easing.
More attention may be paid to the automaker’s earnings call, during which CEO Elon Musk brushed analysts off, told them their questions were boring, and spent a significant amount of time fielding questions from a guy with a YouTube channel.
2. Xiaomi is going public: China’s Xiaomi, one of the world’s biggest smartphone makers, has filed for an IPO.
The Chinese company submitted documents to list shares on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Its filing didn’t give details on the size of the planned IPO, but reports have suggested it could be worth around $ 10 billion.
Xiaomi declined to comment on the value of the IPO, which is expected in the next couple of months.
3. Fed boosts the dollar: The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday signaled growing confidence that inflation is picking up and the economy is getting stronger.
The Fed left interest rates unchanged. Investors will be looking for more clues on future rate hikes in about three weeks, when the Fed releases the minutes from the meeting. The central bank’s next meeting is on June 12 and 13.
The US dollar was flat on Thursday, but it hit fresh 2018 highs on Wednesday as investors reacted to news out of the central bank.
4. Global market overview: US stock futures were higher.
European markets opened lower, while Asian markets ended the session mixed.
The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 dropped 0.7% on Wednesday. The Nasdaq shed 0.4%.
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5. Earnings and economics: Blue Apron (APRN), CIGNA (CI), DowDuPont (DWDP), Ferrari (RACE), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMHC), Kellogg (K), Marriot Vacations (VAC), New York Times (NYT), PG&E (PCG), Standard Motor (SMP), and World Wrestling (WWE) will release earnings before the open.
Activision Blizzard(ATVI), CBS (CBS), Con Edison (ED), Del Taco (TACO), El Pollo Loco (LOCO), Goldman Sachs BDC (GSBD), GoPro (GPRO), Haynes International (HAYN), Pandora Media (P), Post (POST), Shake Shack (SHAK), Weight Watchers (WTW), and Xerox (XRX) will follow after the close.
Shares in Adidas (ADDDF) dropped 1.5% after the company reported its earnings. The German sportswear giant reported strong sales in China and North America and rising profits.
US trade balance data for March will be published at 8:30 a.m. ET. At the same time, initial jobless claims numbers will be released by the Department of Labor.
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6. Coming this week:
Thursday — Cigna (CI), DowDuPont (DWDP), Kellogg (K), Weight Watchers (WTW) earnings
Friday — Alibaba (BABA), Newell Brands (NWL) earnings; Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholder weekend kicks off; Jobs report
