1. Huawei announces lawsuit against U.S. government
Chinese telecommunication company Huawei Technologies has sued the U.S. government for barring its products from the American market. Huawei says the move by the Trump administration and U.S. lawmakers to prevent it from selling its products in the country is unconstitutional.
2. Kroger and Costco earnings
Two major companies are set to report earnings on Thursday: grocery giant Kroger (NYSE: KR) reported lower-than-expected earnings and sales before the opening bell. The company also issued a disappointing EPS guidance for fiscal 2019, sending its shares down 11 percent.
Big box retailer Costco (NASDAQ: COST) will announce its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the closing bell. Analysts expect Costco to come out with earnings of $1.69 per share on sales of $35.68 billion.
3. ECB announces measures to revive Eurozone
As predicted, the European Central Bank announced that interest rates will stay unchanged at record lows for at least the rest of 2019. ECB President Mario Draghi announced a new round quarterly targeted long-term refinancing operations beginning September 2019 to March 2021 in order to revive bank lending in the Eurozone.
4. U.S. equity benchmarks on track for a fourth straight losing session
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 250 points, led by declines in shares of DowDuPont and Goldman Sachs. The S&P 500 dipped 21 points as materials and financials sectors laggard. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.9 percent, on track for its fourth consecutive loss.
