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10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Jonathan Garber   

10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Stock Market2 min read

Venezuela protests

Reuters/Carlos Garcia Rawlins

Volunteers, members of a primary care response team, huddle together during clashes with security forces at a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela.

Trump's tax plan is out. Key details from the plan include lowering the corporate tax rate to 15% and reducing the number of personal income tax brackets from seven to three with rates of 35%, 25%, and 10%.

Trump won't 'terminate' NAFTA. A statement from the White House said President Donald Trump told the leaders of Mexico and Canada that the he won't "terminate" NAFTA, but that he is looking to renegotiate the trade deal, Reuters says.

The Bank of Japan cuts its inflation forecast. The BOJ kept policy on hold, but said it sees inflation of 1.4% in 2017, down from its previous estimate of 1.5% and below its 2% target. The Japanese yen is X at X per dollar.

The ECB meets. The European Central Bank is expected to keep policy on hold as the second round of France's presidential election looms on May 7. Traders will be on the lookout for any clues as to when the central bank might taper its bond-buying program. Ahead of the decision, the euro is little changed at 1.0895 against the dollar.

Bitcoin is threatening all-time highs. The cryptocurrency trades up 0.9% at $1306 a coin, holding just below its all-time high of $1327.19, which was set on March 10, the day the US Securities and Exchange Commission rejected the Winklevoss ETF.

Samsung posts its best quarterly profit in 3 years. The electronics giant shrugged off the Galaxy Note 7 debacle and posted an operating profit of 9.9 trillion won ($8.75 billion), its best in more than 3 years, Reuters says.

Weight Watchers has a new CEO. Mindy Grossman, current chief executive of HSN, has been named CEO, Reuters says. Shares of Weight Watchers spiked as much as 13% in after-hours trade on Wednesday following the announcement.

Stock markets around the world are mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+0.5%) paced the gains in Asia and Britain's FTSE (-0.6%) lags in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open down 0.1% at 2,385.

Earnings reporting is heavy. American Air, Domino's Pizza, Ford, and UPS are among the companies reporting ahead of the opening bell while Alphabet, Amazon, an GoPro highlight the names releasing their quarterly results after markets close.

US economic data is moderate. Durable orders and initial claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET before pending home sales crosses the wires at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is X at X.


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