Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open
US stocks are set to open down after pulling in strong rises yesterday.
The S&P is down by 0.12 per cent in the pre-market, the Nasdaq is 0.1 per cent lower, while the Dow is 0.2 per cent off. It's been a poor showing so far from European markets, coming off the back of a disappointing trading day in Asia.
The US 10-year yield is down one basis point at 1.75 per cent.
The day's big news so far
The collapse of the Staples-Office Depot merger last night is the talk of the town.
A federal judge derailed the planned tie-up due to antitrust concerns. Shares in both companies plummeted after-hours on the news.
In the latest presidential primaries, Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump scored victories in West Virginia. Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders took 51.4 per cent of the vote, compared with 36 per cent for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
On the Republican side, presumptive nominee Donald Trump took a massive 76.9 per cent.
To Europe…
British industrial production fell 0.4 per cent in the first quarter, making for a second consecutive quarterly decline, manufacturing data from the Office for National Statistics showed. The decline has pushed the sector into recession for the first time since 2012.
In the competitive European telecoms sector the European Commission has blocked Telefonica's sale of O2 to CK Hutchison, the owner of Three. The deal was worth almost £10.3bn. Regulators squashed the deal due to concerns that it would leave the UK with just three mobile providers.
Read more: Five questions for the UK mobile market after the EU's O2-Three decision
In Asia…
The Thailand central bank has opted to keep its current interest rate on hold at 1.5 per cent, as expected.
In stocks
Electronic Arts is steaming ahead in the pre-market, up by over eight per cent. The video game maker yesterday reported better-than-expected earnings.
Shares in Disney are looking less rosy however after it posted second quarter results that missed expectations.
Earnings today
We've heard this morning from department store Macy's and fast food restaurant Wendy's. Macy's missed, while Wendy's did a little better. Wendy's also provided an update on its on-going investigation into suspicious credit card activity in as many as 300 of its franchises.
Later on we'll hear from Weibo – known as the Chinese Twitter – and its parent company Sina.
Economic data
Oil stockpiles will be the big economic data today. Crude-oil inventories will be released at 3:30pm London time.
Read more: Premier oil share price slides despite oil production topping forecasts
Meanwhile the latest Treasury budget be announced at 7pm BST after the US Treasury auctions off $23bn worth of 10-year notes at 6pm.