10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Advertisement

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, plays pool

Reuters/Paul Edwards

Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, plays pool during her visit to MIST, a child and adolescent mental health project in Pontypool, Wales, Britain

Here is what you need to know.

Advertisement

The Dow is on its longest record-setting streak since 1987.The Dow Jones industrial average booked its ninth straight close at all-time highs on Wednesday, making for the first time that has happened since January 1987.

A Fed rate hike is coming "fairly soon." That's according to the minutes of the January 31/February 1 FOMC meeting that were released on Wednesday. World Interest Rate Probability data provided by Bloomberg shows a 34% chance of a March rate hike and a 61.8% chance a rate hike happens in May or sooner.

Mnuchin talks the dollar. Contradicting what President Trump has said at times, Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that a strong dollar was a "good thing."

Bank of Korea holds. The central bank held its key interest rate at 1.25% and noted that while exports are improving, the employment picture has been "sluggish."

Advertisement

Tesla reports a smaller than expected loss. The electric automaker lost an adjusted $0.69 per share on revenue of $2.28 billion. The company said it expects to deliver between 47,000 and 50,000 Model X vehicles during the first half of 2017.

Barclays nearly triples its pre-tax profit. Barclays pre-tax profit surged to 3.2 billion pounds from 1.1 billion pounds the year before. CEO Jes Staley said in an interview with Bloomberg that the bank "will soon be what it wants to be."

Exxon slashes its amount of proven oil reserves. The oil giant slashed its amount of proven oil reserves by 3.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent to 20 billion barrels, Reuters reports, citing a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Stock markets around the world are lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (-0.4%) lagged in Asia and Spain's IBEX (-0.9%) trails in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open little changed near 2,365.

Earnings reporting remains heavy. Chesapeake Energy, Hormel, and Kohl's are among the companies reporting ahead of the opening bell while Gap, Herbalife, and Nordstrom highlight the names releasing their quarterly results after markets close.

Advertisement

US economic data is light. Initial jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET before the FHFA House Price Index crosses the wires at 9 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.40%.

NOW WATCH: Trump's doctor and a hair surgeon explain what's going on with his hair