1. Dow 21,000: The Dow Jones industrial average soared 303 points on Wednesday to close above 21,000 for the first time.
The record-setting performance followed President Trump’s prime time address to Congress, which struck a more optimistic tone than other recent speeches.
The speech was, however, thin on policy details. If anything, Trump gave fewer specifics on major issues like tax reform, Obamacare and deregulation than many expected.
The Dow has now skyrocketed 2,700 points since Trump’s election victory in November. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq have also posted major gains and are sitting at all-time highs.
U.S. stock futures were little changed ahead of the opening bell on Thursday.
European markets were mostly lower in early trading. Stocks in Asia were mixed, with Chinese markets in negative territory.
2. Snap, crackle, IPO: Snapchat owner Snap will debut on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday.
Snap priced its initial public offering at $17 a share on Wednesday. It had previously proposed a range of $14 to $16 a share.
That will reportedly give Snap a market value of nearly $24 billion, making it the largest U.S. tech IPO since Facebook.
Investors are enthusiastic about the company’s prospects despite concerns over slowing user growth.
“The demand for the Snap IPO has been very, very strong,” says Jeff Zell, an analyst with IPO Boutique, a research firm. “Even the original naysayers and detractors from the deal have pretty much softened their negativity.”
Snap continues to struggle to make money — and it has signaled that a profit may not be coming soon. The company suffered losses of $515 million in 2016, up from a loss of $373 million the year before.
3. Earnings: Barnes & Noble, Kroger, Sears Holdings and Abercrombie & Fitch will release earnings before the open.
Shares in Anheuser-Busch InBev were off by 2.5% in Europe after the company reported worse-than-expected quarterly results. The company said that challenges in Brazil hurt its overall performance.
Costco is set to release earnings after the close.
4. Coming this week:
Thursday – Snapchat parent company Snap set for stock market debut
Friday – Nintendo Switch releases worldwide
