Wall Street poised to open higher
U.S. stocks are set to start higher on Thursday, despite President Donald Trump’s remarks that he may slap China with new tariffs if trade talks between the two nations fail to bear fruit.
“Our talks with China, a lot of interesting things are happening. We’ll see what happens…I could go up another at least $300 billion and I’ll do that at the right time,” Trump told reporters on Thursday, according to Reuters. However, he did not give details on what Chinese goods could be targeted by the tariffs.
As of 5:59 a.m. ET, futures on the blue-chip Dow were up 64.5 points, or 0.25% to 25,622.5. Futures on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 26.5 points, or 0.37% to 7,255 while those on the broader S&P 500 climbed 7.13 points, or 0.25% to 2,834.88.
Fiat Chrysler abandons plan to merger with Renault
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE: FCAU) has withdrawn its proposal for a $35 billion merger with French automaker Renault, a deal that would have created the world’s third-largest automaker. Fiat made the announcement late Wednesday, saying it is clear that “political conditions in France do not currently exist for such a combination to proceed successfully.”
Renault board members failed to reach a decision on the offer because representatives of the French government had requested a postponement in a final vote in order to hold talks with Nissan, Renault’s Japanese alliance partner.
The French government wanted Nissan to support the deal, but the latter declined. France owns a stake of more than 15% in Renault, making it the biggest shareholder in the automaker.
Fiat shares tumbled 3% in early trading in Milan on Thursday, while those of Renault were down 7% in Paris following the announcement.
Mexican peso slides on analyst downgrade; Trump remarks
The Mexican Peso tanked 1.3% on Thursday in Asia, after credit ratings agencies Fitch and Moody’s downgraded the country’s sovereign debt rating on Wednesday. Moody’s lowered Mexico’s outlook from stable to negative.
Fitch cut the sovereign rating from BBB+ to BBB, citing the growing risk to Mexico’s public finances, including the ongoing slump in the country’s economy and the weakening credit profile of its state oil company Pemex.
President Trump’s comments on Thursday that there was “not nearly enough” progress made in the latest discussion between Mexico and U.S. officials to curb illegal immigration, also weighed on the currency.
Beyond Meat set to report earnings today
Beyond Meat Inc (NASDAQ: BYND) is scheduled to report its first quarterly earnings since going public on May 2. Wall Street analysts expect a loss of $0.15 per share on sales of $38.9 million when the plant-based burger maker publishes its report after the closing bell.
Beyond Meat stock has soared more than 300% since its market debut, a rally that has made it an expensive short. The stock was down 1.51% to $101.05 in pre-market trading.
