Stocks poised to open higher
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday, as investors digested Federal Reserve’s decision to leave benchmark rates steady at a target of between 2.25% to 2.5% and maintained its patient stance.
At 7:08 a.m. ET, futures on the blue-chip Dow advanced 20 points, or 0.08% to 26,410. Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq pointed to a gain of 21.25 points, or 0.27% to 7,777.75 while those on the S&P 500 contract rose 5.38 points, or 0.18% to 2,928.38.
The Bank of England today kept interest rates unchanged at 0.75% as widely expected by expected. Policymakers also lifted their UK growth outlook for 2019 adding that they are expecting just one interest rate hike by 2021.
UK’s economic growth and business investment have been gloomy since the Brexit referendum in June 2016. But economists believe the economy will accelerate once the Brexit dilemma is solved.
Tesla files to offer common stock and convertible notes
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) on Thursday filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for mixed-shelf offering for an undisclosed amount.
The electric-car maker that it plans to offer 2.7 million shares of its common stock as well as $1.35 billion in convertible notes, or $1.55 billion if underwriters of the deal exercise options to buy additional notes in full.
Shares of the California-based company gained $12.99, or 5.55% to $247.00 in premarket trading.
Earnings Alert
Investors are awaiting quarterly earnings reports from several companies today. Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), Cigna Corporation (NYSE: CI), AmerisourceBergen Corp (NYSE: ABC), DowDuPont Inc (NYSE: DWDP), and Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (NYSE: HII) report before the opening bell.
Companies reporting after the close include Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ: MNST), Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS), United States Steel Corp (NYSE: X).
