10 things you need to know before the opening bell

Reuters/Yves Herman

Protesters dressed as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May wave in front of European Commission headquarters ahead of a EU Summit in Brussels, Belgium.

Here is what you need to know.

1. The Fed dims its outlook for the US economy. The central bank on Wednesday held its benchmark interest rate unchanged in a range between 2.25% and 2.5%, and said that it expects no rate hikes this year and to end its balance-sheet tapering in late September.
2. Britain is on the brink of a no deal Brexit. On Thursday, Prime Minister Theresa May will request a three-month delay to Brexit, something the EU has already denied, meaning the UK is on track to leave the EU without a deal on March 29.
3. The FBI is entering the investigation of Boeing's 737-Max plane. The FBI will be looking into how Boeing's 737-Max was certified to fly, according to The Seattle Times.
4. Levi Strauss is going public. The jeans maker will go public for the second time in its history on Thursday after pricing its initial public offering at $17 a share - above the $14-$16 that was expected.
5. A $3 billion investment chief shares his plans for playing Lyft's IPO. Jack Ablin, the chief investment officer at Cresset Capital Management, breaks down the strategies that traders are likely to use around the IPO, and what his firm plans to do.
6. A Tesla analyst who toured its factories reveals what he saw. "It was jaw-dropping in how efficient that process has now become in the tent," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told Markets Insider, referring to the Model 3 sedans being produced underneath a giant tent at the Fremont factory. "This is not a company that's slowing down production."
7. Indonesia's Lion Air is working on an IPO. The airline is seeking a $1 billion domestic IPO, according to Reuters.
8. Stock markets around the world were mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng (-0.85%) led the losses in Asia and Britain's FTSE (+0.39%) was out front in Europe. The S&P 500 was set to open down 0.17% near 2,819.
9. Earnings reporting is light. Darden Restaurants reports ahead of the opening bell and Nike releases its quarterly results after markets close.
10. US economic data trickles out. The Philly Fed and initial claims will both be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield was down 1.3 basis points at 2.51%.