10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Here is what you need to know.

The Fed holds, says the economy is growing at a "strong" pace. The US central bank left its key rate in a range between 1.75% and 2% and said economy activity is "rising at a strong rate."

Chinese stocks got smoked. China's Shanghai Composite slid 2% on Thursday amid US trade tensions and word regulators are ready to impose even tougher restrictions on property purchases. Elsewhere, Germany's DAX (-1.78%) leads the losses in Europe while the S&P 500 is set to open lower by 0.64%.

The Bank of England is expected to hike rates. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg see a greater than 90% chance that Britain's central bank raises its key interest rate for just the second time since the financial crisis. The decision will cross the wires at 7 a.m. ET.

The stock market is seeing abnormally large moves this earnings season. Goldman Sachs says single-stock moves have been more extreme this earnings season than at any point in the past eight quarters, and the bank has four reccommendations for how you can make some money before the reporting is over.

Tesla reports wider loss than expected, expects to be profitable in the 2nd half. The electric-car maker reported mixed second-quarter results and said it plans to make between 50,000 and 55,000 Model 3 sedans in Q3 - on its way to profitability in the second half of the year.

Elon Musk apologizes to the analyst whose questions he called 'boring' and 'boneheaded.' "I'd like to apologize for being impolite on the prior call," the Tesla CEO said on Wednesday's second-quarter conference calll. "Honestly, I really think there's no excuse for bad manners, and I was kind of violating my own rule in that regard. There are reasons for it in that I had gotten no sleep, had been working 110 hour, 120 hour weeks, but nonetheless, there's still no excuse."

Carl Icahn is getting involved in Cigna's $67 billion merger with Express Scripts. Icahn has amassed a less than 5% stake in Cigna with the intent of voting against its deal with Express Scripts, the Wall Street Journal says.

Wall Street bankers are adding a so-called Weinstein clause to deals. The clause would in some cases require a selling company to compensate a buyer if sexual misconduct scandals by executives come to light.

Earnings reports keep coming. DowDuPont and Kellogg report ahead of the opening bell while Activision Blizzard, CBS, GoPro, and Take-Two Interactive release their quarterly results after markets close.

US economic remains heavy. Initial claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET before durable goods and factory orders both cross the wires at 10 a.m. ET.