Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open
Oil is climbing and China has fixed the yuan at its weakest level in five years. Here's what you need to know before the market open at 14:30 London time.
The pre-market is pointing to a strong rise at the open. The S&P is up by 0.36 per cent, while the Nasdaq is up by 0.44 per cent. The Dow is up by 0.35 per cent.
The US 10-year bond yield is unchanged near 1.87 per cent.
Oil rises…
Oil prices are up by around one per cent, with US oil touching $49.45 a barrel earlier today, while international benchmark Brent crude hit $49.39 – the highest recorded since October last year. Earlier this week oil had fallen to around $48 per barrel.
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The bounce in oil prices comes after American Petroleum Institute data showed last night inventories in the US dropped by five million barrels, double market expectations.
In China…
The People's Bank of China is weakening the yuan ahead of a potential Fed interest-rate hike next month.
The central bank set the midpoint of its yuan fix at 6.5468 per dollar, down 0.34 per cent on yesterday.
Stocks to watch
HP Enterprises has performed strongly in the pre-market, up over 10 per cent after it announced it plans to spin off its enterprise services.
Monsanto share holders have mounted a fight back against Germany's Bayer. Shares have climbed around two per cent in after hours trading after it rejected Bayer's $62bn (£42bn) takeover bid.
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Microsoft has announced it will slash 1,850 jobs as it moves to "streamline" its smartphone hardware business.
Earlier this month Redmond, the Washington based software giant, announced it would sell the Nokia handset business for a measly $350m (£238m) to FIH Mobile, a subsidiary of Taiwanese gadget maker Foxconn.
Microsoft acquired the business in 2014 for $7.2bn. Last year the company cut 7,800 jobs to refocus its phone efforts, writing off $7.6bn. Microsoft will take a $950m hit as a result of todays layoffs.
Companies reporting today
We've already heard from Bank of Montreal and Tiffany & Co. this morning, both disappointing investors.
After the close, supermarket Costco and Hewlett-Packard will publish their latest results.
Economic data out today
Fed watchers will be scrutinising the latest US Markit services PMI at 14:45 London time for clues on whether the economy can stand a US interest rate hike in June. Recent economic data suggests it could be looking likely.
The Fed shocked investors last week when it said the market was not taking seriously enough the possibility of an interest rate hike.
Meanwhile, the FHFA Housing Price Index will be released ahead of the market open at 14:00 London time.