10 things we need to know before the US markets opening bell

1.The pound drifts little changed ahead of the UK election.
The British pound holds steady near 1.2915 as traders await Thursday's general election. The polls suggest Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party holds a lead of about 6 points over Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party, though outliers say that could be as big as 12 points or as small as 1.

2. Australia ties the Netherlands' record for consecutive quarters without a recession. Australia's economy grew at a 0.3% clip in the first quarter, making for the 103rd straight quarter without a recession. That level of growth, however, was the slowest pace since the global financial crisis.

3. The Reserve Bank of India holds.
India's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at 6.25% and said it was paying close attention to the recent drop in inflation.

4. Cash-rich companies are king in the stock market.
Companies with strong balance sheets are up 11% this year, outpacing those with weaker balance sheets by 3.5 percentage points, according to data compiled by Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg.

5. Mark Cuban says bitcoin is in a bubble.
The outspoken billionaire tweeted on Tuesday: "I think it's in a bubble. I just don't know when or how much it corrects. When everyone is bragging about how easy they are making $=bubble."

6. Santander bought its rival Banco Popular for 1 euro.
Santander will ask investors for about 7 billion euros ($7.9 billion) to help strengthen its balance sheet following the acquisition, Reuters says.

7. HSBC could face a fresh lawsuit over alleged forex manipulation.
The bank's traders are accused of manipulating markets to boost their own profits at the expense of clients, the Financial Times reports.

8. Goldman Sachs is boosting the rate it offers customers on deposits.
Goldman is offering a 1.2% rate on deposits, up from its previous 1.05% rate, Reuters says. The national average is 0.06%.

9. Stock markets around the world are higher.
China's Shanghai Composite (+1.2%) outperformed in Asia, and France's CAC (+0.6%) leads the gains in Europe. The S&P 500 is set to open up 0.1% near 2,434.

10. US economic data is light.
Consumer credit will cross the wires at 3 p.m. ET. The US 10-year yield is up by 1 basis point at 2.15%.

Source: Business Insider

Jr Trader Ivan Ivanov

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