BY THE NUMBERS
Wall Street should see a triple-digit Dow gain at the open, but that would only make a small dent in Wednesday's sharp losses that continued a nightmarish October for the bulls and sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 lower for 2018. (CNBC)
* Cashin: There's no panic in the sell-off (CNBC)
* Cramer explains why the sell-off is happening and what to do about it (CNBC)
The busiest week of earnings season continues this morning with reports from Comcast (CMCSA), Dow component Merck (MRK), and Twitter (TWTR) among the high profile companies on the schedule. Alphabet (GOOGL), Amazon (AMZN), and Intel (INTC) are the heavy hitters of after-the-bell reports. (CNBC)
* Comcast beats on top and bottom lines (CNBC)
* Twitter earnings: 21 cents a share, vs 14 cents EPS expected (CNBC)
Tesla's (TSLA) stock was 10 percent higher in premarket after the company reported a record profit for the third quarter, earning an adjusted $2.90 per share. Wall Street analysts had expected a loss of 19 cents per share. Revenue also beat estimates. (CNBC)
* Tesla 'obviously' plans to take on Uber and Lyft, says CEO Elon Musk (CNBC)
Two key economic reports are out at 8:30 a.m. ET, with the government releases weekly initial jobless claims and September durable goods orders. The National Association of Realtors releases September pending home sales at 10 a.m. ET. (CNBC)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
The Secret Service said "potential explosive devices" addressed to former President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have been intercepted. New York police evacuated the Time Warner Center to investigate another suspicious package. (CNBC)
* Trump condemns attempted attacks on Democrats (CNBC)
American businesses are pleading with the Trump administration to create an escape hatch from the latest round of tariffs on Chinese goods. But this time, the U.S. Trade Representative's office is not allowing any exceptions. (CNBC)
Lawyers for President Donald Trump will appear in court today to try and convince a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by New York's attorney general alleging the president unlawfully used his charity to help his 2016 campaign and to benefit his businesses. (Reuters)
U.S. companies are encouraging employees to vote in upcoming elections with paid time off. Walmart (WMT), Tyson Foods (TSN) and PayPal (PYPL) are among those supporting the Time to Vote campaign, a nonpartisan effort to increase voter turnout. (CNBC)
A new Kaiser report found that Medicaid enrollment declined for first time in more than a decade as economy boosts income for poor Americans. States are budgeting for a "minimal" increase in enrollment of 0.9 percent in 2019. (CNBC)
* A new front in the job war: paying for child care (Axios)
An analysis of Commerce Department data by the Wall Street Journal found a pickup in government spending, particularly defense, has helped drive a broad acceleration in U.S. economic growth in the past year and a half.
With sustained winds of 178 mph as its eye passed directly over the island of Tinian, Super Typhoon Yutu was the strongest storm on record to ever hit U.S. soil, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. (USA Today)
CNBC has learned that Udi Manber, who ran engineering for Google's core search products and previously held senior roles at Yahoo and Amazon (AMZN), is joining health insurance giant Anthem (ANTM) as the head of artificial intelligence.
Activist investor Bill Ackman's Pershing Square bought a 3.7 percent stake in hotel operator Hilton Worldwide (HLT). The fund now holds 10.9 million Hilton shares. Hilton has a market capitalization of $19 billion. (Reuters)
STOCKS TO WATCH
Microsoft (MSFT) earned $1.14 per share for its fiscal first quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14. Revenue also beat forecasts, highlighted by a 76 percent jump in the company's cloud-computing business known as Azure.
Visa (V) came in a penny above estimates with adjusted quarterly profit of $1.21 per share, though the payment network operator did see revenue come in very slightly below forecasts. Credit card payment volume jumped 11 percent from a year earlier amid a stronger US economy.
Ford Motor (F) beat consensus estimates by one cent with adjusted quarterly earnings of 29 cents per share. The automaker's revenue beat estimates as well, and Ford reaffirmed its full year guidance although it also said cash flow for this year will be lower than it was in 2017.
Las Vegas Sands (LVS) fell four cents shy of Street forecasts with adjusted quarterly profit of 77 cents per share, and the casino operator's revenue fell short of estimates as well. The company also announced a quarterly dividend increase of two cents per share to 77 cents.
Whirlpool (WHR) earned an adjusted $4.65 per share for its latest quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.76. The appliance maker's revenue was essentially in line with forecasts, with the company results boosted by higher prices and stronger North American sales.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) earned an adjusted 13 cents per share for the third quarter, one cent above estimates. However, AMD reported revenue that fell below forecasts, and the chip maker also issued weaker than expected current quarter revenue guidance.
Align Technology (ALGN) beat estimates by five cents, earning $1.24 per share for its latest quarter, with revenue also above forecasts. However, the shares are being hit hard after the maker of the Invisalign invisible dental brace system gave weaker than expected fourth quarter guidance.
WPP (WPP) shares are plunging after the ad agency cut its sales and profit forecasts.
WATERCOOLER
After a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, the Boston Red Sox has a commanding two games to none lead in the 2018 World Series. David Price allowed just three hits and two runs over six innings. (NY Times)