Stocks poised to open higher
U.S. stock index futures suggest that Wall Street is all set to rebound on Thursday, despite worsening trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.
As of 6:43 a.m. ET, futures on the blue-chip Dow were seen gaining 60.5 points or 0.24% to 25,169.5. Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 were up 26.25 points or 0.36% to 7,242.25 while those on the broader S&P 500 rose 9.88 points or 0.36% to 2,789.88.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced it will impose anti-dumping duties of up to 1,731% on mattresses imported from China and up to 79.7% on stainless beer kegs.
Stainless beer kegs imported from Germany and Mexico are also being hit with duties of 8.6% and 18.5%, respectively. The department said it determined that mattresses and beer kegs imported from China were being dumped in the United States at less than fair value.
Iran blamed for oil tanker attacks
U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton says Iran is almost certainly to blame for the recent oil tanker attacks in the Persian Gulf. Speaking to reporters during his visit to the UAE on Wednesday, he also blamed Iran for the drone attacks on an oil pipeline on west coast of Saudi Arabia.
“There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind in Washington who’s responsible for this.” Bolton said. “Who else would you think is doing it? Someone from Nepal?” The long-standing advocate for regime change in Tehran did not provide any evidence to support his claims, which Tehran dismissed as laughable.
Meanwhile, expectations of a drop in U.S. crude inventories pushed West Texas Intermediate crude futures up $0.12 cents or 0.2% to $58.93 per barrel on Thursday. Brent crude futures, the global marker for oil prices, lost $0.59 or 0.9% at $68.86 a barrel.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Wednesday that U.S. crude stockpiles fell by 5.3 million barrels to 474.4 million barrels for the week to May 24. Analysts had predicted a drop of 900,000 barrels.
Uber to ban low-rated riders
Uber Technologies (NYSE: UBER) may soon start banning passengers with “significantly below average” ratings from using its app. The ride-hailing giant made the announcement on Tuesday saying it will offer tips to passengers on how to improve their ratings, such as avoiding leaving trash in the car and encouraging polite behavior.
“Respect is a two-way street, and so is accountability. Drivers have long been expected to meet a minimum rating threshold which can vary city to city,” Uber’s head of safety brand and initiatives Kate Parker said in a blog post.
Meanwhile, the company is scheduled to report its first financial results since going public earlier this month. The results are due today after the closing bell, with FactSet analysts expecting it to report for first-quarter adjusted net loss of $1.08 billion on revenue of $2.98 billion.
Shares of Uber were little changed before markets opened on Thursday.
Elon Musk urges Tesla employees to accelerate vehicle deliveries in an email
Tesla chief executive Elon Musk is asking employees to improve vehicle deliveries, according to an email obtained by Bloomberg. Musk said demand for Tesla vehicles is strong, but warned employees have to meet deliveries in order to have a successful quarter.
He also said that he will start holding call with teams in Asia, Europe, and America to understand what his company needs in order to improve deliveries. Shares of Tesla were up down 0.45% in premarket trading session.
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