10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Here is what you need to know.
1. Apple just got dethroned as the world's largest public company after Aramco's dizzying $1.9 trillion IPO. Saudi Aramco started trading publicly on Wednesday, with shares spiking 10% on its opening day.
2. The UK could be heading for another hung parliament as Boris Johnson's poll lead over Labour halves. YouGov's final MRP projection gave the Conservatives a small majority of 28 but the polling firm said it could not rule out a hung parliament.
3. 'Hold your hat' if Elizabeth Warren becomes president, billionaire investor Howard Marks says. The Oaktree Capital Management boss said investors would"breathe a sigh of relief" if Trump is reelected.
4. Mark Cuban says there's 'no chance' bitcoin can become a reliable currency. The Shark Tank star said it's "too difficult to use, too easy to hack, way too easy to lose, too hard to understand, too hard to assess a value."
5. Amazon's investment in UK food delivery unicorn Deliveroo hits a major snag as antitrust authority halts deal. The Competition and Markets Authority said it had reasonable grounds for suspecting that Amazon and Deliveroo 'have ceased to be distinct.'
6. Apple CEO Tim Cook says monopolies aren't bad if they aren't abused. In an interview with Nikkei Asian Review on Wednesday, the Apple CEO denied that Apple itself has a monopoly in any sector.
7. The US Federal Reserve holds its last policy meeting of 2019 on Wednesday. The Fed is expected to leave its federal funds rate unchanged at a level between 1.5% and 1.75% and reiterate that it will likely remain at that level through much if not all of 2020.
8. Stocks are muted on Wednesday before the Fed decision at 2:00 p.m. in Washington. US futures underlying the Dow (-0.1%), S&P 500 (flat) and Nasdaq (+0.1%) are mixed. European stocks are up, with the DAX (+0.3%) and the Euro Stoxx 50 (+0.1%) rising. Asian stocks closed mixed with the Nikkei (-0.1%) falling but the Shanghai Composite (+0.2%) and Hang Seng (+0.8%) rose.
9. Today is another quiet earnings day. UK fashion brand Superdry reports today.
10. Today is a big data day. The Fed will be releasing its monetary policy statement later.