10 things you need to know in markets today
It's Bank of England day. Britain's central bank will release its latest monetary policy decisions, as well as the latest Inflation Report at 12:00 p.m. BST (7:00 a.m. ET). The Bank is widely expected to introduce new monetary stimulus, with a 25 basis point rate cut to a record-low 0.25% the most likely outcome.
One person was killed and five others were injured in a knife attack in central London late Wednesday night. Scotland Yard counterterrorism command was investigating the stabbings in the city's Russell Square - police were called there around 10:30 p.m. local time on reports of a man attacking people with a knife, the Metropolitan Police said.
The USA is importing more oil than it produces for the first time in more than two and a half years. For the first time since January 2014, the US imported more crude oil last week than it produced, thanks largely to a surge in OPEC supply.
Gold is one of the hottest assets on the planet right now. "A perfect storm" in markets has left investors scrambling to add gold to their portfolios for protection, according to the World Gold Council.
Tesla missed its earnings targets. Tesla on Wednesday reported a second-quarter loss that was greater than analysts had forecast, as well as revenues that fell short of expectations. The electric-car maker's adjusted loss per share came in at $1.06, and adjusted revenue was $1.56 billion.
Something just happened in the stock market that was a precursor to the 1987 crash. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen on eight of the last nine days, and according to Tom Leveroni of Nautilus Investment Research that's a bad sign. "Asterisk aside, this pattern has not been good historically," Leveroni wrote in a note to clients Wednesday morning. "The Dow closed lower 1 month and 1 year later in 6 of the 9 occurrences since 1900 with 5 signals precisely marking cyclical tops (1901, 1919, 1966, 1976 and 1987)."
Prime house prices are falling in London, but not because of Brexit.According to property agent Knight Frank, the introduction of a higher rate of stamp duty on second homes in April had a far bigger impact than the Brexit vote.
A London startup backed by Goldman Sachs has laid off more than 30 staff. Data analytics startup Qubit, founded by four ex-Google employees and backed by Goldman Sachs has laid off 34 employees, around 12% of its entire staff, after missing internal growth targets.
Asian stocks picked up on Wednesday. Asian shares firmed on Thursday after a rebound in oil prices from four-month lows helped to lift Wall Street shares. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3% in early trade, led by gains in resource shares, recouping some of its 1.5% losses on Wednesday.
It's a data light day in Europe. Apart from the Bank of England's crucial decision, the only releases are the Greek unemployment rate, and a consumer confidence survey in Switzerland. In the USA, July's initial jobless claims figures will be released.