10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Here's what you need to know before the markets open.
1. Global stocks plunge after the Fed predicts a bleak future for jobs and the US economy. In the US, futures underlying the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones are set to fall between 1.3% and 2.1%. Major European indexes are down more than 2%, while in Asia, the Nikkei was down 2.8%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 2.3% and the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.8%.
2. Oil dives 3% as investors fear a second wave of coronavirus and the US reports surging crude inventories. Oil prices dropped on Thursday as fears resurfaced that a second wave of coronavirus could hit the US and stunt economic activity, while data showing that US oil inventories surged last week also subdued prices.
3. Stocks could tank more than 10% when the pandemic's true cost is revealed, the boss of a $4.5 billion wealth manager says. Stocks have shrugged off slowing US growth and surging unemployment to post fresh highs in recent weeks, but wealth manager Peter Boockvar thinks a big fall could be on its way.
4. Lloyds Bank fined $81 million for mortgage arrears failures. Britain's Financial Conduct Authority said on Thursday it has fined Lloyds Bank £64 million ($81.26 million) for failures in handling mortgage arrears.
5. Mitsubishi Electric to acquire plant from Sharp to boost EV power chip output. Japan's Mitsubishi Electric Corp said on Thursday it would buy part of a plant in western Japan from Sharp Corp to meet growing demand for power management chips used in electric vehicles
6. SoftBank buyback puts financial rigour in question, says S&P. Credit-rating firm S&P Global Ratings on Thursday questioned SoftBank Group Corp's financial discipline as the tech conglomerate pursues a massive 2.5 trillion yen ($24 billion) share buyback program in volatile markets.
7. Chinese smartphone brands in India turn to expensive imports as plants struggle: sources. China's Xiaomi Corp and Oppo are importing some smartphone models into India as their local plants struggle to get back to production levels needed to meet demand that built up during lockdown, sources familiar with matter said.
8. The ACLU says Amazon's 1-year suspension on selling facial recognition to law enforcement falls short and it wants a longer ban. Amazon took an unusual step on Wednesday, recusing itself temporarily from the facial recognition market.
9. First-quarter earnings coming in. PVH Corp and Lululemon Athletica are coming in.
10. Economic data releases today. US EIA Natural Gas Storage Change, and a US four-week Treasury auction is due.