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10 things you need to know before the opening bell
(German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a reception of German carnival societies at the Chancellery in Berlin.Reuters/Hannibal Hanschke)
Here is what you need to know.
The UK government lost its Article 50 case. The decision handed down by the UK's top court says the government must receive parliamentary approval before it can trigger Article 50, the mechanism that would begin the UK's exit from the European Union.
Rex Tillerson has been cleared by the Foreign Relations Committee. President Trump's pick for secretary of state received backing with an 11-10 vote along party lines that "all but assures Senate confirmation," according to the Associated Press.
Eurozone PMI slipped. Markit Eurozone PMI printed 54.3 in January, down from December's reading of 54.4, but employment grew at its fastest clip in nine years. The euro is weaker by 0.3% at 1.0732 against the dollar.
Turkey holds its key rate. Turkey's central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 8.00% and said "excessive fluctuations in exchange rates since the previous meeting have increased the upside risks regarding the inflation outlook." The Turkish lira is weaker by 0.9% at 3.7893 per dollar.
Yahoo is pushing back the deadline to close the $4.8 billion Verizon acquisition. The company announced adjusted earnings per share of $0.25 and revenue ex-TAC of $960.1 million, both ahead of expectations. It also said, "Given work required to meet closing conditions, the transaction is now expected to close in Q2 of 2017."
Samsung's profit jumps. The smartphone maker said operating profit surged 50% to 9.22 trillion won ($7.93 billion) despite the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco and the political scandal for which Samsung executives are under scrutiny.
Toshiba is preparing to announce the size of its US nuclear business write-down. The company said it would announce the size of its US nuclear business write-down on February 14, the day it releases its fourth-quarter results.
Stock markets around the world are mostly higher. Australia's ASX (+0.5%) paced the overnight gains, and Germany's DAX (+0.3%) leads in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.2% near 2,266.
Earnings reporting picks up. 3M, Alibaba, D.R. Horton, Lockheed Martin, and Verizon Communications are among the names reporting ahead of the opening bell, while Alcoa and Texas Instruments release their quarterly results after markets close.
US economic data flows. Markit manufacturing PMI and existing-home sales will cross the wires at 9:45 a.m. ET and 10 a.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is higher by 3 basis points at 2.43%.
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