10 things you need to know before the opening bell
(An Afghan officer in front of a burning pile of seized narcotics and alcoholic drinks in the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan.Reuters/Omar Sobhani)
Here is what you need to know.
The Dow is getting closer to 20,000. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5% on Tuesday, finishing at 19,974.62. It's expected to open little changed on Wednesday.
Oil is on track to close at its best level since July 2015. West Texas Intermediate crude oil trades up 0.6% at $53.63 a barrel ahead of crude-oil inventory data, which will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The world's oldest bank is running out of cash. The Italian lender Monte Paschi warned it would run out of cash in four months, sooner than the 11 months investors had previously thought.
Blackstone is winding down its "big bet" hedge fund. Senfina has lost 24% this year through November as bets in its center book, which featured managers' best ideas, saw the biggest losses, Reuters reports.
Tesla upped its credit lines. The electric-car maker expanded its borrowing capabilities by about $500 million, Bloomberg reports. Tesla now has about $1.8 billion available through its credit lines.
Nike beats. The sneaker giant earned $0.50 a share, easily beating the $0.43 that analysts had forecast, as sales rose by 8% excluding the currency impact to $8.2 billion.
FedEx whiffs. The global logistics company earned an adjusted $2.80 a share, well below the $2.91 that Wall Street was expecting, as the growth of its FedEx Ground system led to some of the increased costs.
Stock markets around the world trade mixed. China's Shanghai Composite (+1.1%) led the gains in Asia, and France's CAC (-0.5%) lags in Europe.
Earnings reports trickle out. Bed Bath & Beyond and Micron Technology are among the names reporting after markets close.
US economic data is light. Existing-home sales will be released at 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is little changed at 2.55%.
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