Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Thursday, January 28:
1. Oil prices rally to 3-week high on production cut hopes
Oil prices rallied to a three-week high after Russia said it was discussing the possibility of cooperation with OPEC to cut production and tackle one of the biggest supply gluts in decades.
Brent jumped 65 cents, or 1.9%, to $34.58 a barrel by 11:30GMT, or 6:30AM ET, while U.S. crude was up 32 cents, or 0.98%, to trade at $32.62.
2. Markets continue to digest Fed message
As expected, the Fed kept interest rates unchanged at the conclusion of its policy meeting on Wednesday and said it was "closely monitoring" global economic and financial developments.
Fed policymakers added that the economy was still on track for moderate growth and a stronger labor market, but warned that inflation will remain low in the near-term.
Market players viewed Wednesday’s policy statement as slightly dovish. Fed funds futures, used by investors to place bets on central-bank policy, forecast a 25% likelihood of a rate increase at the Fed’s March meeting, according to data from CME Group (O:CME), down from 34% ahead the Fed’s statement on Wednesday.
Traders are anticipating just one more rate hike this year, most likely in July, compared with four according to Fed policymakers' guidance.
3. Wall Street points to higher open ahead of busy earnings day
U.S. stock markets pointed to a higher open on Thursday, as traders looked ahead to a flurry of key earning reports.
The blue-chip Dow futures gained 43 points, or 0.27%, the S&P 500 futures tacked on 7 points, or 0.36%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 33 points, or 0.78%.
The earnings season continues at full speed on Thursday. Caterpillar (N:CAT), Ford (N:F), Alibaba (N:BABA), Bristol-Myers Squibb (N:BMY), Blackstone (N:BX), Harley-Davidson (N:HOG), Hershey (N:HSY), Abbott Laboratories (N:ABT), Northrop Grumman (N:NOC) and Under Armour (N:UA) are slated to report ahead of the opening bell.
After the market closes, Amazon (O:AMZN), Microsoft (O:MSFT), Visa (N:V), Electronic Arts (O:EA) and Amgen (O:AMGN) are on tap.
On the data front, the U.S. is to release data on durable goods orders for December as well as the weekly report on initial jobless claims at 8:30AM ET, followed by pending home sales data at 15:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET.
4. European shares under pressure
European equities edged lower, as investors digested mostly downbeat corporate earnings from Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) and H&M (ST:HMb).
Germany’s DAX slid 0.9%, France’s CAC 40 lost 0.65%, while London’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.5%.
5. China stocks close at lowest since November 2014
China stock markets were under pressure again on Thursday, with the Shanghai Composite ending down 2.9% to close at a 14-month low. The benchmark is down almost 26% month-to-date.