AP/Luca Bruno
Here is what you need to know.
The Fed holds, expects to keep hiking rates gradually. The Federal Reserve held its key interest rate in a range between 2% and 2.25% at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on Thursday and signaled it would continue raising rates gradually amid stable economic growth.
Soybean inventories pile up amid US-China trade battle. The Department of Agriculture on Thursday lowered its projections for soybean exports by 160 million bushels to 1.9 billion for the 2018-2019 marketing year as China has turned to South America and elsewhere for the legume during its trade war with the US.
A closely watched measure of market risk has reversed course for the first time since the financial crisis. The Sharpe ratio, which is used to evaluate the return of an asset compared with its level of risk, has flipped “conclusively,” and the strategists John Bilton and Karen Ward of JPMorgan Asset Management say it’s a massive opportunity for investors.
Goldman Sachs’ former CEO attended a meeting at the center of the $6.5 billion Malaysian wealth-fund scandal. While CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein was present at a meeting that helped set up the $6.5 billion 1MDB Malaysian sovereign wealth fund that is now the subject of a global corruption investigation, Bloomberg says. There is no evidence Blankfein knew that the Malaysian businessman Jho Low, who has been implicated in a money-laundering scandal tied to the fund, would be attending the meeting.
Disney beats. The entertainment giant beat on profit and revenue as it saw success from its Marvel sequel “Ant Man and the Wasp” and as more visitors went to its parks, Reuters says.
Dropbox’s guidance tops estimates. The file-hosting company reported third-quarter results that beat on both the top and bottom lines and gave fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $367 million to $370 million — ahead of the $363.7 million that analysts were expecting.
An American has a shot at winning the World Chess Championship. The 26-year-old Fabiano Caruana will face the three-time champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway as he attempts to become the first American since Bobby Fischer in 1972 to win the World Chess Championship.
Stock markets around the world are in the red. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (-2.39%) led the losses in Asia, and Britain’s FTSE (-0.67%) trails in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open down 0.55% near 2,791.
Earnings reporting slows down. Athenahealth reports after markets close.
US economic data keeps coming. PPI will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET while wholesale inventories and University of Michigan consumer confidence cross the wires at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is down 3 basis points at 2.31%.
