Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Thursday, May 3:
1. U.S.-China Trade Talks Kick Off In Beijing
Two days of tense U.S.-China trade talks between U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are due to kick off on Thursday in Beijing.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and White House advisers Larry Kudlow and Peter Navarro are among the U.S. officials also participating in the meetings.
The talks are taking place after President Donald Trump proposed new tariffs on Chinese goods and Beijing responded with a set of duties that could potentially apply to U.S. products too.
China would welcome a successful outcome from trade talks with the U.S., but is fully prepared for all outcomes and will not negotiate on core interests, a Chinese government official said on Wednesday.
The most likely outcome is an agreement to keep talking, with the Trump administration maintaining its threat to press ahead with punitive tariffs on Chinese goods, trade experts say.
2. Attention Shifts To U.S. Data After Fed Holds
Market attention now shifts to upcoming economic data after the Federal Reserve did little to alter expectations for further interest rate rises this year.
The Fed kept interest rates unchanged following its policy meeting on Wednesday, a move that was widely expected, and noted that inflation was starting to inch higher, leaving it on track to raise borrowing costs in June.
The economics calendar will be busy Thursday, with the weekly report on initial jobless claims, as well as readings on worker productivity and the trade balance are all due at 8:30AM ET (1230GMT).
A survey on service sector activity, and a report on factory orders are then due at 10AM ET (1400GMT).
The week’s biggest economic report, however, won’t come until Friday morning when the monthly jobs numbers are set for release.
The dollar edged lower to give back some of its recent gains, while Treasury yields slipped.
3. Another Busy Day Of Earnings
Notable earnings reports expected out on Thursday morning include Kellogg (NYSE:K), Teva (NYSE:TEVA), Blue Apron (NYSE:APRN), Cigna (NYSE:CI), DowDuPont (NYSE:DWDP), New York Times (NYSE:NYT), and WWE (NYSE:WWE).
After the close, results from CBS (NYSE:CBS), Overstock.com (NASDAQ:OSTK), Weight Watchers (NYSE:WTW), Herbalife (NYSE:HLF), Shake Shack (NYSE:SHAK), Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI), Universal Display (NASDAQ:OLED), Pandora (NYSE:P), GoPro (NASDAQ:GPRO), Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET), Sierra Wireless (TO:SW), and Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) will be on the agenda.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) earnings will also be in focus after Chief Executive Elon Musk on Wednesday cut off analysts asking about profit potential in the company's first-quarter's earnings call, sending shares down 4% in after-hours trading, despite promises that production of the troubled Model 3 electric car was on track.
Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) shares, meanwhile, plunged as much as 10% in the extended session, after it released its maiden earnings report since its IPO last month, posting a smaller than expected loss but revenue fell short and guidance disappointed.
Square (NYSE:SQ)'s stock sank more than 6% ahead of the open after the financial services and mobile payment company's weak earnings guidance disappointed investors.
4. U.S. Stock Futures Point To Higher Open
U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly higher open, as investors prepped for another busy day of earnings and economic data.
The blue-chip Dow futures rose 35 points, or about 0.2%, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 4 points, or nearly 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures added 9 points, or roughly 0.1%.
Stocks closed lower on Wednesday, with the Dow losing about 175 points.
Elsewhere, in Europe, the continent's major bourses were mostly lower, in a day dominated by earnings updates.
Earlier, in Asia, markets in the region closed mixed, following the uninspiring overnight lead from Wall Street.
5. Euro Zone Inflation Unexpectedly Slips In April
Inflation in the euro zone slowed unexpectedly in April, further undermining the case for the European Central Bank to start scaling back its stimulus program in the coming months.
Consumer-price growth slowed to 1.2% last month, the European Union’s statistics office said, while the core rate dropped to 0.7%, the weakest in more than a year.
Both readings were lower than economists had forecast.
The euro was a tad higher at 1.1970 against the dollar, but remained not far from Wednesday's four-month low.