10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Republican senators are begging Trump to reverse one of his first major economic decisions. Twenty-five Republican senators sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to get the US back into the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.
UK unemployment rate climbs for the first time in over a year. The headline unemployment rate ticked up from 4.3% to 4.4% between October and December last year, making for the first increase since August 2016, Office for National Statistics data showed Wednesday.
Something unusual is going on with the gold price. The inverse relationship between the price of gold and inflation-adjusted US 10-year bond yields has broken down.
Venezuela's oil-backed cryptocurrency raised $735 million, government says. The petro, a cryptocurrency launched by the Venezuelan government that will be backed by the country's oil, gas, gold, and diamond reserves, raised $735 million in the first day of a pre-sale, Reuters reports, citing government officials.
A blunder at a Japanese crypto exchange let investors briefly buy bitcoins for free. Zaif, a government-registered exchange run by Osaka-based Tech Bureau Corp, said on Tuesday a system glitch let seven customers buy bitcoin with no yen value during a 20-minute window last week, Reuters says.
Walmart has its worst day in 30 years. Walmart tumbled more than 10% Tuesday, making for its worst performance since January 1988, after online sales growth declined sharply during the crucial holiday quarter.
People hate Snapchat's redesign so much that another Wall Street analyst downgraded the stock. Snap plunged more than 7% Tuesday after Citigroup analysts Mark May and Hao Yan downgraded the company to a sell and said, "While the recent redesign of [Snap's] flagship app could produce positive long-term benefits, [there is a] significant jump in negative app reviews since the redesign was pushed out a few weeks, which could result in a decline in users and user engagement, and could negatively impact financial results."
Stock markets around the world trade mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+1.81%) led the gains in Asia and Germany's DAX (-0.67%) lags in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open down 0.22% near 2,710.
Earnings reports keep coming. Dish reports ahead of the opening bell while Cheesecake Factory, Roku, and Sturm Ruger release their quarterly results after markets close.
US economic flows. Markit PMIs will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET and existing home sales are due out at 10 a.m. ET. Finally, minutes from the Fed's February meeting will cross the wires at 2 p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is little changed near 2.89%.