Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open
Theresa May has been buttering up Wall Street following the Brext vote and drug giant GlaxoSmithKline has a new chief executive.
Here's what you need to know before the US open at 2:30pm London time.
The US futures markets are pointing higher ahead of the open. The S&P is up by 0.38 per cent, the Nasdaq is 0.36 per cent higher, and the Dow is up by 0.3 per cent in the pre-market. The US 10-year yield is down two basis points at 1.69 per cent.
So far markets across Europe have all had a positive, albeit subdued start to the session, while Asian markets ended the day slightly into negative territory.
May goes to Wall Street
Prime Minister Theresa May went on a charm offensive with US banks last night, holding a summit with some of the biggest institutions in a bid to reassure them over potential repercussions of Britain's vote to leave the EU.
Heavyweights at the meeting included JP Morgan Chase investment banking chief executive Daniel Pinto, Blackrock chief executive Larry Fink, Goldman Sachs chief financial officer Harvey Schwartz and Morgan Stanley president Colm Kelleher.
She meanwhile hit back at EU countries threatening the UK ahead of trade negotiations, insisting they will sign up for a post-Brexit deal. May also said she would be “ambitious” in negotiations and backed the UK to be a “global leader in free trade”.
Stocks to watch
US lender Wells Fargo's chief executive John Stumpf is set to be grilled by members of the Senate Banking Committee over its recent fake account scandal.
Wells Fargo created more than 2m fake accounts over several years and fired some 5,300 employees in relation to the fraud, though executives claim to have been ignorant of it.
Retail giant Walmart is in focus today after it complete its purchase of online marketplace Jet.com last night, costing it an eye-watering $3.3bn.
Walmart is hoping a boost from the Jet website to its online shopping business will better help it to compete with the likes of Amazon and Ebay.
Companies reporting today
US housebuilder Lennar has already posted results, reporting higher-than-expected profit and revenue for the third quarter as it sold more homes at higher prices and the company said orders rose 8.1 per cent.
After the close we'll hear from software maker Adobe Systems and delivery and logistics company FedEx. We'll also get numbers from another housebuilder, KB Home.
In economic news
Markets and investors are closely watching the Fed ahead of the latest interest rate decision tomorrow. Before that though, housing data from the US Census Bureau is out at 1:30pm London time.