10 things you need to know before the opening bell
Twitter's plunging. Twitter trades down 15% at $21.14 per share in pre-market action following a report from Recode's Kara Swisher and Kurt Wagner that suggests Google will not prepare a formal bid for the company. The report also says Apple is "unlikely" to make an offer.
Deutsche Bank's rally continues. Shares of the investment bank are up 0.8% to 12.16 euros in Germany following a Reuters report that the German government is pursuing talks with US authorities to help settle the bank's enormous fine. The stock has gained 22% since bottoming out on September 30.
Yum Brands blamed tension in the South China Sea for its bad quarter. The fast-food chain reported same-store sales fell by 1% in China, missing analysts' forecast for a gain of 4.1%. CEO Greg Creed noted in the statement accompanying the earnings release that "anticipated tougher laps in the second half of the third quarter were compounded by an international court ruling on claims regarding the South China Sea, which triggered a series of regional protests and negative sentiment against a few international companies with well-known Western brands."
Mylan overcharged the government for EpiPen. The drug company classified the EpiPen as a generic, allowing it to have inflation protections with Medicaid that non-generics don't. As of now, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is unsure exactly how much it was overcharged.
Walmart upped its stake in JD.com. The world's largest retailer continues its push into China by raising its stake in JD.com, China's second biggest e-commerce site, from 5.9% to 10.8%, the Associated Press reports.
There's a highly skilled forger in the art market. It has been discovered that a fake 'An Unknown Man' by Dutch artist Frans Hals was sold at Sotheby's auction house to an anonymous bidder in 2011, the Financial Times reports. The forged work raises fears that more multimillion dollar forgeries are on the market.
Crude oil flirts with $50. West Texas Intermediate crude oil holds little changed at $49.76 per barrel after Wednesday's unexpected inventory draw down. WTI has not been above the $50 mark since June.
The ECB's Monetary Policy Accounts will be released. The MPAs will give insight into the the European Central Bank's economic outlook amid rumors that it's planning to pare its quantitative easing program. The euro is down 0.2% at 1.1186 per dollar.
Stock markets around the world are mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (+0.7%) paced the gains in Asia and France's CAC (-0.3%) lags in Europe. S&P 500 futures are down 5.25 points at 2,148.00.
US economic data is light. Initial jobless claims are due out at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is unchanged at 1.70%.