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10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Feb 2, 2017, 17:23 IST

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (L) poses for a selfie with a worker following an event marking the completion of masonry work on West Block on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.Reuters/Chris Wattie

Here is what you need to know.

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The Fed kept policy on hold. The US central bank held its benchmark interest rate between a range of 0.50% and 0.75% while noting that the labor market "remains solid" and inflation is "still below" its 2% target.

The Bank of England meets. The central bank is expected to keep both its key interest rate and asset purchase program unchanged at 0.25% and 435 billion pounds, respectively. The British pound is little changed ahead of the decision at 1.2657 against the dollar.

The UK took a step closer to Brexit. Parliament voted 498 to 114 to move along the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, which if passed, will give Prime Minister Theresa May the ability to trigger Article 50, the mechanism that would begin the UK's exit from the European Union.

Anthony Scaramucci reportedly won't get a White House role. The New York Times reports Scaramucci was notified by Trump's chief of staff Reince Priebus and strategist Stephen Bannon that he wouldn't be getting the job as liaison to the business community. Scaramucci's hedge fund, SkyBridge Capital, is in the process of being sold to a division of HNA Group, a politically connected Chinese group.

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Facebook had a blockbuster quarter. The social media giant earned $1.41 per share as revenue exploded 51% versus a year ago to $8.81 billion. Both monthly active users and daily active users outpaced Wall Street estimates.

Deutsche Bank had a rough 2016. The German investment bank lost €1.4 billion ($1.51 billion) in 2016 as it restructured and dealt with "negative news flow" surrounding the fine levied against it by the US Department of Justice.

Citadel is shutting down one of its stock-picking units. Ken Griffin's hedge fund is shutting down its Ravelin Capital unit a little over a year after its launch because of underperformance, a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider.

Stock markets around the world trade mixed. Japan's Nikkei (-1.2%) lagged in Asia and Britain's FTSE (+0.4%) is out front in Europe. The S&P 500 is on track to open lower by 0.3% near 2,272.

Earnings reporting is in high gear. CME, Ferrari, Philip Morris, and New York Times are among the names reporting ahead of the opening bell while Amazon, AthenaHealth, Chipotle Mexican Grill, GoPro, and Visa highlight the names releasing their quarterly results after markets close.

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US economic data is light. Initial jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 1 basis point at 2.46%.

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