10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Trump is reportedly considering a plan to slap tariffs on imported cars. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that the Trump administration is considering a plan to impose tariffs on imported cars by undergoing an investigation through Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act, which allows the president to impose trade restrictions on the grounds of national security.
Italy has a new prime minister. Giuseppe Conte, a law professor without any political affiliation, was named Italy's prime minister by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League parties on Wednesday.
The US has reportedly opened a criminal probe into market manipulation of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The US Justice Department is working with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees cryptocurrency derivatives, to investigate potential market manipulation of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Bloomberg says.
Deutsche Bank is axing 7,000 investment banking jobs. The equities sales and trading headcount is being slashed by 25% and the investment bank leverage exposure is being cut by 10%.
Elon Musk bashes the media. "The holier-than-thou hypocrisy of big media companies who lay claim to the truth, but publish only enough to sugarcoat the lie, is why the public no longer respects them," Musk said in a Twitter rant Wednesday, during which he vowed to start a website that would score journalists over time.
MoviePass said a $300 million lifeline could sustain it for over a year, but that money could slip through its fingers. MoviePass has repeatedly said it's not worried about sustaining further losses because it has a $300 million "equity line of credit" that could keep it going for over a year, but financial experts say the financial instrument described by CEO Mitch Lowe is not what is generally considered to be an equity line of credit and is subject to the whims of the public market.
Victoria's Secret parent L Brands tumbles after lowering guidance. Shares fell more than 6% in after-hours trading Wednesday after the retailer beat on both the top and bottom lines but lowered its full-year 2018 earnings-per-share guidance to $2.70-$3.00 from $2.95-$3.25.
Stock markets around the world trade mixed. Japan's Nikkei (-1.11%) led the losses in Asia and France's CAC (+0.47%) is out front in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open little changed near 2,734.
Earnings reports trickle out. Best Buy reports ahead of the opening bell while Gap and Ross Stores release their quartertly results after markets close.
US economic data keeps coming. Initial claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET before FHFA home prices and existing home sales cross the wires at 9:45 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. ET respectively. The US 10-year yield is up 2 basis points at 3.01%.