Roku IPO; Trump tax reform; Accenture earnings

1. Streaming in: Streaming device company Roku will make its market debut in New York on Thursday.

The company intends to sell $219 million worth of shares, priced at $14 each. That would value Roku at $1.3 billion.

It will list on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “ROKU”.

The company hopes to capitalize on the popularity of streaming content. More than 60% of 18- to 29-year-olds say they watch TV primarily through online streaming, according to a survey released by the Pew Research Center this month.

The boom has spurred traditional outlets like Disney and tech giants like Amazon to invest heavily in streaming services.

2. Taxes and markets: Investors are considering the tax reform plan unveiled by President Trump on Wednesday, which includes sweeping tax cuts and a simplification of the tax code.

“Financial markets have reacted positively, which is not unexpected given the proposed benefits to larger companies,” said Paul Donovan, global chief economist at UBS Wealth Management.

But he’s not confident the proposals will become law.

“The president proposes, Congress disposes,” Donovan said.

U.S. stock futures were soft ahead of the open.

The Nasdaq shot up 1.2% on Wednesday after the tax plans were revealed. The S&P 500 hit an all-time record.

In Europe, stock markets were mixed in early trading. Asian markets ended the day with modest moves.

3. Stocks to watch — GoPro, Ryanair: GoPro is set to make new product announcements at around 12:00 p.m. ET.

Shares in European budget airline Ryanair were making another descent after the firm canceled 18,000 more flights because of a pilot shortage.

The U.K.’s Civil Aviation Authority has also accused the budget airline of “persistently misleading passengers with inaccurate information regarding their rights in respect of its recent cancellations.”

Ryanair shares were 1% lower in early trading.

4. Earnings and economics: Accenture, BlackBerry, ConAgra, McCormick and Rite Aid will release earnings before the open.

The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis will give an updated estimate of GDP growth in the second quarter. An earlier report showed the economy grew by an annual rate of 3.0% over the period.

5. Coming this week:

Thursday — Earnings from Accenture and BlackBerry
Friday — Twitter meets with Senate Intelligence Committee; Brazil unemployment data released; Elon Musk speaks about his Mars plans at a conference in Australia

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